US ski star Lindsey Vonn reacted to the successes of her competitors around Emma Aicher and the impending loss of first place in the Downhill World Cup with an emotional post.
“Why does this title mean so much to me? Why am I crying over a crystal ball?” wrote Vonn, who suffered a serious leg injury, in the long text that she accompanied several photos from the season. Since the first race she has worn the red jersey of the World Cup leaders, “but tomorrow will most likely be my last day as number one.”
Vonn had won the first World Cup downhill in St. Moritz during the Olympic season and had collected 400 points at the Olympic Games until her serious injury. With second place in Val di Fassa, Aicher moved within 14 points of Vonn. Winner Laura Pirovano from Italy, now with 336 points, and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, with 306 points, could also overtake the American in the downhill today (start at 10.45 a.m.). After that there is only one more downhill run in the World Cup season.
“At the beginning of the season, no one would have believed that I would even be in this position. I bet people would have even laughed if someone had predicted that,” the 41-year-old wrote.
Vonn lists everything she accomplished this season
In her post, Vonn listed what she achieved against all expectations this winter. She was on the podium in every race and won two of them.
She fought her way back to the top “after being retired for six years and having an artificial knee joint.” That alone is an achievement “that I will never forget. Even if in a few days no one will remember that I almost won the overall classification – I will remember it.”
The speed specialist suffered a complex shin injury when she fell during the descent in Cortina. She had already torn her cruciate ligament immediately before the Olympic Games, but still competed.
Your tears are there for a reason
What no one can take away from her are her memories. “Not winning the title doesn’t make this season any less extraordinary,” she wrote.
She loved the moments with the fans, standing in the starting house or crossing the finish line and seeing the number one light up next to her name. “These memories will not be wiped away because there is no title. My tears simply mean that it was important to me. It always has been,” she wrote.
