Lindsey Vonn wins World Cup downhill at age 41 to begin her Olympic season

[ad_1] The queen of downhill snowboarding is properly and really again.

At age 41, Lindsey Vonn remains to be sooner than the remaining and on Friday turned the oldest winner of a World Cup race for the reason that circuit began in 1967.

Vonn raced to a stunningly quick win in a downhill at St. Moritz on Friday to earn her first victory in almost eight years — and the primary in her comeback with titanium implants in her proper knee after a five-year retirement.

America ski nice seized the lead by an astonishing 1.16 seconds forward of Mirjam Puchner of Austria. Even wilder was that Vonn trailed by 0.61 after the primary two time checks on the Swiss resort.

Vonn's lead was later reduce to 0.98 — nonetheless a large margin in downhill — when unheralded Magdalena Egger took second place from teammate Puchner.

"It was an incredible day, I could not be happier, fairly emotional," Vonn advised Swiss broadcaster RTS. "I felt good this summer time however I wasn't certain how briskly I used to be. I assume I do know now how briskly I'm."

WATCH | Vonn scores 83rd profession victory: 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn captures her 83rd profession World Cup victory

American Lindsey Vonn gained Friday's World Cup ladies's downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, her eighty third profession win for the legendary racer. Quickly after, Vonn shed tears on the rostrum within the end space when The Star-Spangled Banner performed.

It was an ideal begin to her Olympic season to get a primary victory since a downhill in March 2018 at Are, Sweden.

Vonn's excellent debut working with new coach Aksel Lund Svindal, a males's downhill nice who gained the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics title, suggests their stellar partnership is paying off.

Her run Friday appeared routine when she dropped tenths of seconds to Puchner's time on the highest half of the sunbathed Corviglia course, the place the end is at altitude above 2,000 meters (6,500 ft).

Vonn then was sooner than anybody by means of the following pace checks, touching 119 kph (74 mph), and posted the quickest time splits for the underside half.

She skied by means of the end space and bumped in opposition to the inflated security barrier, lay down within the snow and raised her arms on seeing her time.

Evening, evening Vonn received up, punched the air together with her proper fist and shrieked with pleasure earlier than placing her arms to her left cheek within the fashion of Steph Curry's "Evening, evening" gesture.

The 2010 Olympic champion is focusing on one other gold medal on the Milan Cortina Winter Video games in February. Girls's Alpine snowboarding is on the storied Cortina d'Ampezzo course within the Dolomites, which Vonn has mastered in her profession with 12 World Cup race wins.

"Clearly my aim is Cortina but when that is the best way we begin I feel I am in a great spot," stated Vonn, who will likely be favored for one more downhill win Saturday at St. Moritz.

Vonn has shredded age information since her return to World Cup racing at St. Moritz one 12 months in the past.

She's now the oldest winner of a males's or ladies's race, taking the mark set by 37-year-old Didier Cuche, additionally in Switzerland, in 2012 when he triumphed in a super-G at Crans-Montana. Till Friday, the ladies's document was 34 years, 7 months set by Federica Brignone in March after victory in a super-G at Kvitfjell, Norway.

No girl aged no less than 35 ever was on a World Cup race podium till March when Vonn positioned second in a super-G at Solar Valley.

No ladies aged no less than 36 ever had a points-scoring end in downhill till Vonn final season. No ladies aged no less than 37 ever had a points-scoring end in any World Cup occasion till Vonn, in line with the ski-db.com archive.

Vonn, who turns 42 in October, has pledged to retire on the finish of the season in March, so may not catch the boys's age document for a podium end — Johan Clarey was 42 years, 13 days when runner-up within the feared Kitzbuhel downhill in January 2023. At 41, he additionally took silver in downhill on the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Friday's race was Vonn's one hundred and twenty fifth begin in World Cup downhill in her storied profession, 24 years after the primary at Lake Louise, Alta.

She has now gained a record-extending 44 of them, together with at St. Moritz in 2012, and has 83 race victories throughout all World Cup disciplines.

Her earlier win at Are got here weeks after Vonn took bronze in downhill on the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Video games in South Korea gained by Sofia Goggia, who positioned fourth Friday. That Olympics was Vonn's fourth and the final she attended.

She additionally gained gold in downhill on the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, and on the 2009 world championships at Val d'Isere, France.

Such is Vonn's dominance in downhill, she has extra World Cup wins within the quickest self-discipline than the opposite 60 racers mixed who began Friday, the Worldwide Ski and Snowboard Federation stated.

Injured rivals A collection of great accidents this 12 months robbed Friday's race of World Cup general winners Federica Brignone and Lara Intestine-Behrami, Olympic champion Corinne Suter and rising U.S. prospect Lauren Macuga.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Michelle Gisin had surgical procedure on her again Thursday, after crashing arduous in a coaching run on the quickest a part of the St. Moritz course.

"I really feel so sorry for Michelle, however that is ski racing," stated Vonn, who prompt she is snowboarding even higher in super-G, which is raced Sunday on the Swiss resort.