Vonn gets World Cup boost despite injury
SOLDEU: Lindsey Vonn defied injury to grab some valuable World Cup points in a super-combined at Soldeu, Andorra yesterday. The 31-yearold American sustained a hairline fracture of her left knee 24 hours earlier when she fell heavily in a super-G race. There were initial fears that her season could be over, but, after waking up and feeling better, Vonn took to the slopes and clocked a fastest 57.04secs in a shortened speed leg of the combined.
She was back in action for the slalom later in the afternoon and while she was unable to take the 77th World Cup win of her career, she still did enough to place 13th, giving her 20 points. Her great rival for what would be a fifth overall World Cup title and first since 2012, Lara Gut of Switzerland, came away empty-handed after she straddled a gate halfway down the course. “Drained my knee a few times and it’s feeling a little better. Going to go up on the hill and see how it feels. Wish me luck!!” the American speed queen said on her Facebook stage early yesterday.
The first run was then delayed for two and a half hours due to poor weather conditions. Vonn has a history of knee injuries sustained in competition, and there were fears her season could have been over when she fell heavily in Saturday’s super-G race and needed to be stretchered off the piste. But after X-rays showed that the injury was a hairline fracture in her left knee and not ligament damage, Vonn said that she was determined to compete in yesterday’s super-combined. Vonn ended the day with an increased lead over Gut, having 1235 points, 28 points more than her Swiss rival. The race was won by Canadian Marie-MichËle Gagnon with Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener second and AnneSophie Barthet of France third.