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Lindsey Vonn, 41, is starting her Olympic racing season with a new sense of power and an immediate display of dominance, tearing away from the field in the first official downhill training session of the season.
The legendary skier, who has gained 12 pounds of muscle and hired a new superstar coach, is set to begin his World Cup campaign this weekend with two downhills and a super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Vonn, who returned to the slopes last season after nearly six years in retirement and a partial knee replacement involving titanium implants, expressed remarkable confidence in her physical condition.
“Physically I’m probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” Vonn said at a news conference in the Swiss resort. “And my body doesn’t hurt, so that’s the best thing.”
His return last season saw mixed results, culminating with a second-place finish in the super-G on home ice in Sun Valley, Idaho, his only podium appearance.
However, Vonn has attributed her improved performance this season to a rigorous summer routine.
“My goal this summer was to get a lot stronger,” she explained. “I was thinner than I was last season. I didn’t really have time to prepare so I didn’t have time to gain my weight back. I was still quite a bit lighter than when I was racing at my peak.”
She added, “But I managed to gain about 12 pounds (5.5 kg) this summer, which I was thrilled about. It took a lot of hard work. I was probably the most disciplined I’ve ever been in terms of my diet and the way I worked out throughout the summer. I put everything I had into being as physically prepared as possible.”
Vonn has her sights set on the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Feb. 6-22, where she aims to compete in the downhill, super-G and new team combined races.
Reflecting on her current condition, she commented, “For my age, I feel pretty good. I probably feel better now than I did before I tore my first ACL in 2013. So that was a long time ago.”
Her illustrious career boasts World Cup records for both men and women with 43 downhill wins and 28 super-G wins.
Her total of 82 World Cup wins is third behind American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (104) and Swedish great Ingmar Stenmark (86).
In Wednesday’s opening training session on the St. Moritz course, Vonn demonstrated her tremendous form, finishing 0.59 seconds ahead of Norway’s Kajsa Wickhoff Lee and 0.71 seconds ahead of Italian standout Sofia Goggia.
Another training session is scheduled for Thursday, followed by downhill races on Friday and Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.
Furthering their preparations, former overall World Cup champion Axel Lund Svindal has joined their coaching staff.
“Lindsay was confident that this was something I could do better than most people,” Swindall said. Vonn also revealed her meticulous approach to equipment, having tried out “20 to 30 pairs” of new shoes last season before returning to a reliable old pair.
St. Moritz is the first of five speed weekends Vonn is expected to compete in before the Olympics.
These include events in Val d’Isère, France on 20–21 December; Zauchensee, Austria, on 10–11 January; Tarvisio, Italy, on 17–18 January; and on January 30–31 in Crans Montana, Switzerland, as she moves toward her Olympic aspirations.