Vonn’s return delayed after training canceled

Lindsey Vonn’s return to the piste after a back injury and a backlash at her anti-Trump comments was put back at least a day after downhill training in Val d’Isere was canceled Thursday.

Strong winds and heavy snow put paid to any plans the 33-year-old American might have had for refinding her skiing mojo after she was forced to withdraw from last weekend’s St Moritz super-G with a compression of a spinal joint sustained in a race 24 hours previously.

Organizers in Val d’Isere also swapped Sunday’s super-G for Saturday’s downhill in a bid to be able to run the two races, with better weather expected on Sunday.

Vonn found herself back in the spotlight this week after making comments about the US government and President Donald Trump which caused a massive backlash, much of it negative.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, Vonn said she had been hurt by some of the responses she had received to comments made in the interview with CNN, insisting her focus would now turn fully on the February 9-25 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

“My recent comments opened up my eyes as to how divided we are right now,” Vonn wrote.

“It is hurtful to read comments where people are hoping I break my neck or that God is punishing me for being ‘antiTrump.’”

Vonn told CNN that she would be proud to represent the US at February’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang but did not see herself as a representative of the US government.