‘Miracles’ needed to extend Vonn’s career

JEONGSEON, South Korea — US speed queen Lindsey Vonn said on Tuesday that she would require “medical miracles” to extend her trophy-laden skiing career after sustaining a string of devastating injuries.

Serious injuries are one of the hazards of elite racing, which this season has seen the deaths of two male racers, France’s two-time Olympian David Poisson and German teenager Max Burkhart.

Be it a jarred back, fractured humerus or season-ending injuries that include a fractured left ankle (2016), wrecked right knee (2014) and left knee (2013), Vonn has sustained a catalogue of mishaps that have left her relying on more than a couple of reconstructed body parts.

“I’m just counting on some medical miracles to extend my career,” said Vonn, who missed the 2014 Sochi Games with a knee injury.

The 33-year-old, who will target a second Olympic downhill gold on Wednesday after winning in Vancouver in 2010, has confirmed she will race as long as she can, primarily in her bid to beat Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup victories. The four-time World Cup overall champion’s tally is currently 81.

After finishing fourth in Tuesday’s final downhill training, won by Austrian Ramona Siebenhofer, Vonn reiterated that it was highly unlikely she would make it through to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

“It’s 99.9 percent sure I won’t,” said the American.