Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) (AFP) – Lindsey Vonn’s dream of Olympic medal glory is alive after the American ski star again defied a serious knee injury to complete her second training run for the Milan-Cortina women’s downhill on Saturday. A ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee did not stop Vonn from clocking a time of 1min 38.28sec in a confident run down the Olimpia delle Tofane piste, which will host the women’s alpine skiing starting with the downhill final on Sunday. After her run, Vonn swept past journalists in the mixed zone, replying “good” when asked how it went.
The session was paused because of fog after 21 competitors had gone, with Vonn’s US teammate Breezy Johnson clocking the fastest time of 1.37:91. The 41-year-old Vonn — Olympic downhill champion in 2010 — would have been among those tipped for gold in her favoured discipline had she not suffered the serious injury a week before the official start of the 2026 Winter Games. Vonn’s presence at these Olympics was already a huge achievement before her injury, as she roared back from retirement in November 2024 to re-establish herself as the premier woman downhill skier despite being in her early 40s.
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For context, Vonn is the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in her sport, a record she established with bronze in the downhill at her last Winter Games in Pyeongchang eight years ago. Her rivals and coach Aksel Lund Svindal, himself a two-time Olympic gold winner, have lauded Vonn’s iron will, which is allowing her to not just compete but aim for a fourth medal at the Winter Games with an injury that would have ruled out most athletes. A brace is helping to stabilize Vonn’s left knee, which also suffered bone bruising — she claimed the meniscus damage could have already been there — during a heavy crash in the last World Cup downhill race in Switzerland before the world’s top women alpine skiers decamped to Cortina.
Local favourite Sofia Goggia, who won gold and silver in the downhill at the last two Olympics, had a bumpy run but managed to recover. Goggia would have had a late night, as she lit the cauldron in the opening ceremony in Cortina on Friday, one of two that will burn throughout these Games. Germany’s rising star Emma Aicher, who at 22 years old has blossomed into a leading medal contender at these Games, timed 1:38.75. This time last year, all-rounder Aicher had never claimed a World Cup podium, but she has since taken eight in three disciplines — downhill, super-G, and slalom. In 2026, she has five podiums and two wins in Tarvisio (super-G) and St. Moritz (downhill), beating Vonn into second in both.
© 2024 AFP
