Vonn and boyfriend Subban go together like snow and ice
ARE, SWEDEN >> Of all the people flying in to attend Lindsey Vonn’s final race — her dad and two siblings, U.S. Ski Team top brass and even Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark — one very significant other will be missing.
P.K. Subban, Vonn’s boyfriend and a defenseman for the NHL’s Nashville Predators, has a game to play on Sunday hours after Vonn bids skiing goodbye in the downhill at the world championships in Sweden.
“I would’ve liked to be there for that and celebrate with her,” Subban said. “I’ve got to do the best I can to support her from afar.”
Earlier this season, when Vonn was out recovering from another in a long line of knee injuries, Subban kept Vonn’s spirits up when she couldn’t even bear to watch a ski race.
“It’s a great thing that I have such an upbeat boyfriend,” Vonn said. “He runs around in a pajama suit making me laugh and that takes my mind off of things. He’s just always positive and happy and maybe a little too energetic at times. But it definitely helped me mentally to be in Nashville and be around him and not focus so much on skiing but just getting healthy and working as hard as I can.”
After divorcing from retired skier Thomas Vonn, Vonn dated Tiger Woods and then NFL coach Kenan Smith.
She and Subban went public with their relationship in June when they walked the red carpet together at the CMT Music Awards in Nashville.
The day after Vonn retires, she will fly to Nashville to see Subban — and begin her new life as a professional hockey fan. “I’ll be there like every time now. It will be fun,” she said.
Holdener retains Alpine combined title
ARE, SWEDEN >> Everything fell into place for Wendy Holdener. Her two biggest challengers — Mikaela Shiffrin and Michelle Gisin — weren’t competing in the Alpine combined at the skiing world championships. Then the downhill portion of the event was shortened because of poor visibility, giving slalom specialists like Holdener a crucial advantage.
The Swiss racer just needed to nail her two runs to successfully defend the world title she won in St. Moritz in 2017.
She did exactly that, but only just.
Fifth after the downhill portion, Holdener was tied with Petra Vlhova under the floodlights after the third checkpoint in the slalom leg. Holdener then made up ground in the final stretch to edge Vlhova by 0.03 seconds and retain what may prove to be the last-ever combined title.
Miller, Vonn question Shiffrin’s choice
ARE, SWEDEN >> She would have been the overwhelming favorite for the gold medal. Instead, Mikaela Shiffrin skipped town to escape the public’s eye and recharge for her final two events at the world championships.
The decision to sit out Friday’s Alpine combined event has been questioned by two of Shiffrin’s biggest idols growing up.
“She could have won everything,” said Lindsey Vonn, who will retire Sunday and pass the mantle of the top skier in the U.S. — and the world — to Shiffrin.
“I’m a racer and I want to race in every single race that I possibly can,” Vonn added. “I respect her decision. It’s obviously her decision. But she has the potential and 100 percent the capability of getting a medal in all five disciplines. So I don’t personally understand it . ... Hopefully, I’m sure, she will get two golds in GS and slalom.”
Shiffrin, 23, is attempting to avoid a repeat of last year’s Pyeongchang Olympics, when she got stressed out by schedule changes and postponements. She finished the games by taking silver in combined.
Bode Miller, a former overall World Cup champion and current tv analyst, was also perplexed by Shiffrin’s choice. “It’s not for me to criticize those but I would have her racing for sure,” said Miller said.
Ski chief urged to quit over climate quip
DENVER >> A group of athletes and the world’s biggest snowboard maker want the president of the International Ski Federation to resign after he spoke of “socalled climate change” and said he would rather deal with dictators than argue with environmentalists.
The climate advocacy group Protect Our Winters sent an open letter urging 75-year-old Gian-Franco Kasper to step aside. In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Kasper said “dictators can organize (big) events ... without asking the people’s permission” and that “from the business side, I say: I just want to go to dictatorships, I do not want to argue with environmentalists.”