After the initial ruling by the FIS that “one gender is not entitled to participate in races of the other and exceptions will not be made,” it appeared gold medal downhill skier Lindsey Vonn had backed off her pursuit of facing off against the men to instead focus on the new women’s world cup season.
Not so fast. Over the weekend, Vonn told Eurosport that she’s meeting with legal consultants and is exploring her options going forward in a continued effort to meet the men on the mountain.
“It has been a more realistic goal the last couple of years,” Vonn said in the interview. “But unfortunately the FIS said that a woman is not allowed to race on the men’s tour. It has nothing to do with safety. It has to do with the fact that I’m a woman. I was very disappointed with that decision and I’m not going to stop trying.”
Whether the four-time world cup champ has to go to court or file a petition or something else, Vonn explained that her pursuit is not only about growing the sport, but also about not getting complacent with her talents and about seeing where she stands against the men. And above all else, it’s not just for media attention.
“I have so much respect for the men,” Vonn added. “For what they are doing, how far they are pushing our sport and how strong they are, and how dynamic they ski. That’s the way I want to ski. I want to push myself to that level, and his is the next step for me. That’s all! It’s pretty simple actually.”
