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Lindsey Vonn’s triumphant return to downhill racing with her titanium knee has emphatically silenced critics who suggested she “should see a psychologist” or has “gone completely crazy”.
At the age of 41, von Dominated the opening speed weekend of the Olympic season, taking a dominant win in the first downhill and earning the most points over the three days. world cup racing,
Exactly a year ago, as Vonn prepared to race again after nearly six years of retirement, two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister questioned her intentions on Austrian TV, asking: “Does she want to kill herself?”
Austrian downhill great Franz Klammer declared that “she has gone completely crazy,” while four-time overall World Cup champion Pirmin Zurbriggen commented that Vonn “has not recognized the meaning and purpose of her second life in recent years.”
Such comments underline the perceived risks of the sport where athletes descend snowy mountains at speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph) with little protection.
However, Vaughan has turned the criticism into fuel.
“All the people who didn’t believe in me, I have to thank them because that really inspires me a lot,” Vaughn said.
“I’m surprised people haven’t figured it out yet. Every time you talk bad about me it makes me stronger, better and more motivated. So I would love for people to keep coming to me. That would be great. Motivate me even more.”
His performance on the Corviglia course in St. Moritz, Switzerland was spectacular.
Vonn won Friday by an astonishing 0.98 seconds – an eternity in a sport that is often decided by mere hundredths – becoming the oldest winner in World Cup history in both the men’s and women’s categories.
His celebratory “night, night” gesture imitating NBA star Stephen Curry caught the attention of LeBron James, who posted on Instagram: “40+ is the new 20. Well, as long as you don’t wake up the next day!”
Fellow downhiller Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic champion, admitted that Vonn “took us all to school and left us with a pacifier (baby’s dummy) in our mouths.”
Goggia playfully reinforced his comments the next day, posing with Vaughn in a relaxed manner.
In addition to her dominant win, Vonn took second in another downhill on Saturday despite a mid-race error, and fourth in a super-G on Sunday.
Her weekend tally of 230 World Cup points left Goggia 60 points ahead of Goggia and 85 points ahead of Saturday’s winner, 22-year-old Emma Aicher. Goggia acknowledged that Vonn “has raised the level for every athlete in downhill and super-G.”
This remarkable comeback has prompted Vaughan to reconsider his immediate future.
Instead of retiring after the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February, she now plans to continue skiing until the end of the World Cup season in March.
“I think I might need to change my approach,” she admitted. Their head coach Chris Knight confirmed: “We can start planning for the full season.”
Knight attributes Vaughn’s consistently high performance to sophisticated equipment, improved fitness – adding 12 pounds (5.5 kg) of muscle – and a focus on recovery.
“The recovery is almost more important at this point because he’s in really good shape skiing,” he said.
Looking ahead to the Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds a record 12 World Cup wins, her program includes downhill, super-G and the new team combined competition.
Vonn had previously campaigned to partner slalom star Mikaela Shiffrin for last year’s world championships, then there was no justification for her performance.
However, with Vonn’s current form and Shiffrin’s three slalom wins this season, a skiing “dream team” in Cortina now seems a distinct possibility.
Adding to their tremendous support, former Olympic downhill champion Axel Lund Svindal is on their coaching staff, providing a calming influence at the starting gate.
“He’s started a million times and his calm energy is really helpful to me because sometimes I get really intense,” Vaughn said of Swindle. “He’s always so steady and it gives me peace of mind.”
Vonn’s extraordinary comeback is not just an individual victory but a powerful statement on the age, determination and enduring spirit of a champion.