Despite the grisly picture that Lindsey Vonn tweeted of her knee last week, the Vancouver downhill gold medalist says she’s pleased with her progress, and is recovering ahead of schedule after tearing two knee ligaments during a crash at worlds three weeks ago.
That’s the good news. But Vonn also said during a conference call that she was unhappy about her injury and believes the race on February 5 should have been postponed due to what the FIS called “extreme conditions” in Schladming, Austria.
The super-G was actually postponed more than three hours that day due to fog, and Vonn said she “did not think it was safe” to race because of soft snow: “Athletes’ safety should come first.”
Vonn lost her balance on a hard landing that ripped her left ski off and sent her tumbling down the mountain. She tore her ACL and MCL and suffered a tibial plateau fracture, all in her right knee.
The day before the race, Vonn had written an article for the Denver Post stating her frustration regarding the course being closed to skiers and coaches because of snow conditions. She said no one on her team had been able to evaluate it before the super-G race:
“We were here last year for the World Cup finals, so I feel like I know the hill pretty well, but it always feels a little awkward when you don’t get a chance to free ski the hill before you race. It’s tricky to know the terrain when all you have to go on is course inspection the morning of the race.”
She’s expected back before the next World Cup season, and well before she’s set to compete in Sochi.
“I’m not extremely concerned when I’m going to be back,” Vonn added during the call. “I just want to make sure that when I do get back my knee is 100 percent. It doesn’t take a lot of training for me to be ready to race again.”
