OLYMPICS: Alpine skiing-Vonn more in the spotlight than ever

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn will be in the spotlight more than ever as the injured U.S. Alpine ski star attempts the seemingly impossible on the speed slopes at the Milano Cortina Olympics.

Teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, the most successful World Cup skier of all time, will take centre stage later, but all immediate attention is on 41-year-old Vonn and whether she can overcome a serious knee injury.

Vonn has already defied the odds, making an improbable comeback in 2024 after six years out and achieving remarkable results this season. Now, on the biggest stage of all, the 2010 downhill champion aims to navigate Cortina d’Ampezzo’s iconic Olimpia delle Tofane piste despite her battered body.

On Tuesday, Vonn revealed she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in a crash in Crans-Montana last Friday — the final downhill before the Games. Such an injury is often considered season- or career-ending.

"I know what my chances were before the crash, and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today, but I know there's still a chance. And as long as there's a chance, I will try," Vonn said.

Before the crash, Vonn had been the favorite in a resort known as the “Queen of the Dolomites.” A standout both on and off the slopes, she has already delivered two wins, a second place, and two third-place finishes in five completed downhills this season. No other speed skier matches her consistency, and Cortina has been a venue where she has enjoyed record success, hoping to become Alpine skiing’s oldest Olympic medalist.

Her main rivals include Germany’s Emma Aicher and Austria’s Cornelia Hutter, with Aicher seeking Germany’s first Alpine gold since 2014.

Shiffrin Dominates Slalom

Mikaela Shiffrin has been nearly unbeatable in slalom, winning seven out of eight races this season and finishing second in the other. She is expected to reach the podium, though memories of Beijing 2022, where she failed to medal, add a rare element of uncertainty.

The giant slalom tells a different story. A crash in Killington, Vermont, in November 2024 left Shiffrin with post-traumatic stress and serious muscle injuries. She returned to the podium on January 24 with a third-place finish in Spindleruv Mlyn. Austria’s Julia Scheib leads Switzerland’s Camille Rast in the World Cup standings, with Rast being the only skier to beat Shiffrin in slalom this season.

New Zealander Alice Robinson is another medal contender, having won two giant slaloms and a super-G this season. She could become the first Alpine gold medalist from the Southern Hemisphere.

Italy is focusing on speed events for medals, with 2018 downhill champion Sofia Goggia triumphant in super-G this season, Nicol Delago competing in downhill, and Italian-born Lara Colturi racing for Albania in slalom. Federica Brignone, nicknamed “The Tiger,” hopes for one last Olympic moment at 35 after recovering from multiple leg fractures and torn knee ligaments. -Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond/Reuters