St Anton (Austria) (AFP) – Comeback queen Lindsey Vonn produced a fine sixth on her World Cup downhill return as Italian veteran Federica Brignone continued her superb season at St Anton on Saturday. With 40-year-old Vonn continuing her return after a near six-year retirement, and evergreen Brignone stealing the show, there was a real retro feel in the air at the famed Austrian ski resort.
Vonn, 0.58sec behind after starting 32nd of the 51 starters, raised her arms as if she had won after her exhilarating effort on her first downhill since her comeback to the elite circuit at St Moritz last month. “It was fun. I love being back in the start. I feel a little bit more confident and comfortable in downhill than I do in Super G,” the most successful women’s downhill skier of all time with 43 wins told Eurosport.
Related news
“I still made a couple of mistakes – I know I can be faster – but I think for the first downhill race in six years, it was a pretty good start,” added Vonn, whose last top-level downhill was at the 2019 world championships in Are, Sweden – where she took bronze. Vonn revealed that it had been “hard to focus” with her thoughts on those suffering from the raging Los Angeles wildfires.
“My home was in the evacuation zone and even just the thought of losing it was emotional. I can only imagine what it must feel like for the people who lost everything,” she wrote 24 hours before the downhill. She continued: “It’s another example to appreciate what you have. No matter how bad your day is, someone always has it worse. I am beyond grateful to be here and I will do my best to make it mean something! Sending my love and prayers to everyone in LA, this one is for you!”
The American ski star was at one stage on target to land a hugely popular podium, only to lose a bit of momentum towards the end of the slope in the heart of the Austrian ski resort. One of the all-time biggest names in the sport has made her return after a partial knee replacement. She came in a hugely respectable 14th in the super-G at St Moritz and with this eye-catching sixth place, she looks bang on target to achieve her dream of qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milan-Cortina in Italy.
Vonn left the sport in 2019 after a series of major injuries but she has been free of pain since a right knee replacement in April, when part of the bone was cut off and replaced by two titanium pieces.
– Evergreen Brignone –
She was the most decorated women’s skier with 82 World Cup victories when she retired. Her mark has since been eclipsed by fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin’s 99. Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion, also won 20 World Cup titles, including four overall crystal globes, eight world championship medals, and secured 137 World Cup podiums. Vonn has won 43 World Cup downhills, the last in 2018.
Brignone, the oldest winner of a women’s World Cup ski race at 34, flew down the demanding Karl Schranz course to land her third race of the season – and her first ever downhill – in a time of 1min 16.08sec. She was joined on the podium by Swiss Malorie Blanc, 0.07sec adrift, with Czech Ester Ledecka at 0.18sec.
Austria’s Cornelia Huetter is the downhill globe champion – and the winner of the Beaver Creek downhill at the start of the season – but the local hope had to settle for seventh here. Another leading light, Sofia Goggia, failed to finish after crashing out mid-slope, the Italian losing her balance on one of the turns but thankfully walked away unharmed.
Huetter leads the discipline standings by just seven points from Brignone, who was extending her World Cup tally of victories to 30 with this first ever win in the downhill. Vonn and company are back at St Anton on Sunday for a World Cup super-G.
© 2024 AFP
