Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Day 282: Lindsey Vonn Sadly Out of Olympics

The human body can only take so much and Lindsey Vonn's knee is a perfect example as she announced Tuesday that she would not be competing in Sochi next month. Vonn crashed last year in the Super G at the World Championships where she tore two ligaments in her right knee and suffered a tibial fracture. She came back to compete at the end of 2013, but crashed again in November. Not to be discouraged, she made another valiant attempt but skied off a French course after her knee buckled. And now, with the games just a month away, she has run out of time.
"I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi," Vonn said in a statement Tuesday. "I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level."
It's a sad realization that the most successful skier in American history will not be around to defend her downhill title. In 2010, after announcing she was battling a shin injury, she came out just a week later and became the first American woman to win gold in the downhill. After crashing in two other races, she finished third in the Super G. Vonn will turn 30 this year so competing in 2018 is not a complete long shot. With her determination and perseverance, I wouldn't be surprised to see her hurtling down the mountains of South Korea.

There's no doubt that Vonn is one of the toughest competitors in the skiing field. Back in 2006 in the Torino Games, she crashed during a training run and had to be airlifted to the hospital. She wanted to compete so badly, she got up out of her hospital bed and tried to leave without being officially discharged. She skied just two days later finishing eighth and while not winning a medal, she did win the US Olympic Spirit Award.

Lindsey's withdrawal from the games in Sochi leaves a spot open for another skier on the team. This could be the chance Mikaela Shiffrin has been waiting for. Described as a "phenom" by Bode Miller, the 18-year-old is the current slalom World Cup champion—the youngest in US history. She has won two of four World Cup slaloms this season and is targeted as a potential medalist in both slalom and giant slalom.

While it's sad we won't get Vonn's sparkling presence at the games next month, it will be nice to see a wide-eyed Olympic rookie get her first taste of the global spotlight.

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