Lindsey Vonn twirled her ski poles above her head as if after one of her 82 World Cup victories, the fans cheered for her heroine as enthusiastically as ever: The Speed Queen is back on the World Cup stage – even if only as a forerunner.
Not yet with a real starting number on her chest and back, but with a “C”, the 40-year-old plunged onto the infamous “Bird of Prey” slope before the women’s premiere on the descent from Beaver Creek. For Vonn, the home race was the next step on the way to a World Cup comeback.
This is still planned for the coming weekend in the Swiss luxury ski resort of St. Moritz, as Vonn confirmed. The American wants to compete in both Super-Gs there. She couldn’t get her FIS points down in time for a “real” start in Beaver Creek in the US state of Colorado because the corresponding ranking list will only be updated after the World Cup there.
“Crazy. I’m really happy to be back and to feel the speed in my face again,” said Vonn after training in Beaver Creek. Her artificial knee joint doesn’t cause her “any problems at all, it’s totally different than before, I’m really happy about that.”