Vonn not ruling out final fling in Beijing Injury-plagued star is holding out for ‘miracle’
PYEONGCHANG — Lindsey Vonn’s bronze-medal run in Wednesday’s downhill was billed as the US star’s final bid for Olympic gold in the sport’s marquee even,t but those who know her best say they wouldn’t rule out a fifth attempt in Beijing in 2022.
“Never say last with Lindsey,” her sister, Laura Kildow said when asked whether the skier would have been happy with bronze in her last race.
Her other sister, Karin Kildow, quickly jumped in: “Never say never,” before adding her preferred choice of words: “Most likely last”.
Vonn herself has pointedly referred to Pyeongchang as “probably” her last Olympics, and she reiterated that after her race at Joengseon Alpine Centre, where Italian Sofia Goggia won gold.
“It has been an emotional day all round because it’s probably my last Olympic downhill race ... but I’m on the podium so I’m very happy,” Vonn said.
A source close to Vonn said that her use of such language was no accident.
The reluctance to talk of a definitive end to her Olympic career reflected her understanding that, even though she would be 37 when the Beijing Games roll around, there is no need to rule herself out at this stage.
And Vonn has been clear that the only obstacle to her extending her career is the state of her knees.
On the eve of her downhill run, she said: “I love what I do. I have so much fun going fast and pushing myself to the limit on downhill skis there is nothing else I would rather do.
“So if I could physically continue skiing then I absolutely will. But at this point, it takes a lot to make my knee good enough to ski downhill. It has to be pretty solid to push yourself at these speeds and to be able to trust it.
“I am just counting some medical miracles extend my career.”
Vonn certainly isn’t hanging up her skis just yet and she has plenty of plans, starting with a run in Thursday’s alpine combined.
The 33-year-old Minnesota native has been clear that her next goal after Pyeongchang is to beat Swede Ingemar on to Stenmark’s record of 86 victories on the World Cup racing circuit.
Vonn currently has 81 World Cup triumphs and to get the six more she needs to become the most successful skier of all time could well take her more than a single season.
She won four races this season.
She also has expressed a strong desire to race in a men’s event — probably at Lake Louise in Canada at the start of next season — which would rule her out of the women’s event she has won 18 times and extend the process of reaching Stenmark’s record.
That could take her, perhaps, two seasons and it is then, in 2020, that she is likely to make a definitive decision on whether or not to try to qualify for Beijing.
If she is still capable of winning and her knees are holding up, would Vonn really turn down the chance of one final push at the Games she loves so much?
“I bet she’ll be there,” said teammate Breezy Johnson. “She won’t necessarily be competing, but she’ll still be there.”