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02/06 06:31 CST Lindsey Vonn tests injured left knee in Olympic downhill
training, pumps fist after successful run
Lindsey Vonn tests injured left knee in Olympic downhill training, pumps fist
after successful run
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- A week after rupturing the ACL in her left
knee, Lindsey Vonn opened her chase for Olympic gold at the age of 41 with an
aggressive and successful training run down the Olympia delle Tofane downhill
course on Friday, two days before the race.
Vonn got tight with her line midway down and only narrowly cleared a gate but
she led at the final checkpoints, then stood up out of her tuck before the
finish. She traded fist pumps and a hug with teammate Breezy Johnson, who came
down ninth, just before her, after a delay because of fog.
Vonn is skiing at the Milan Cortina Games with a large brace covering her knee.
She has been clear since her crash last week in Switzerland that she would go
forward despite an injury that many athletes would consider a season- or even a
career-ender.
"Nothing makes me happier! No one would have believed I would be here," Vonn
wrote on social media before her run. "But I made it!! I'm here, I'm smiling
and no matter what, I know how lucky I am. I'm not going to waste this chance.
Let's go get it!!"
The American star had a partial titanium replacement inserted in her right knee
in 2024 and then returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of
retirement. She crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics
in Crans-Montana last Friday. She was airlifted off the course only to post on
social media later that day: "My Olympic dream is not over."
With Thursday's opening training session canceled due to heavy snowfall, there
was one session remaining, on Friday, before Sunday's downhill.
Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins in Cortina.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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