Lindsey Vonn reacts at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on Feb. 21, 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Admitting this was not the way she wanted to start out her YouTube channel, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn made it official in a message to fans that she will not be racing at this weekend’s world cup event in Lake Louise, Alberta.
The resort has come to be nicknamed “Lake Lindsey” in recognition of the 18 world cup wins Vonn has there. Lake Louise has become her favorite event is and always a highly-anticipated one on the world cup calendar.
As Vonn has announced this world cup season will be her last, missing Lake Louise is particularly disappointing.
“To miss my favorite stop on the tour is devastating to me, to put it lightly,” Vonn said in her video. “I cried for a long time in the hospital room and, you know, I know that I’m going to be back shortly, I’m going to be probably able to race in a few weeks. But just the fact that I’m missing Lake Louise is a huge blow for me.”
Despite this being her last world cup season, Vonn left the door open to a possible one-off return next year just to race Lake Louise.
“I’m thinking at this point that I need to come back,” Vonn said. “I know I’ve said many times that I’m not going to come back because my body can’t handle it anymore, but I was also planning on racing Lake Louise … I’m probably going to have to come back next year and just race Lake Louise.”
If healthy, Vonn’s next chance to close on Stenmark’s record is the world cup in Val d’Isere, Switzerland, Dec. 14-16. Vonn was not on the podum at all at Lake Louise last season due to a crash, and still rebounded for five world cup wins the rest of the season.
Vonn is one of the most decorated ski racers of all time, male or female. She is a three-time Olympic medalist, four-time overall world cup champion and winner of 20 world cup crystal globe titles, the most ever. Her gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010 was the first ever in downhill for an American woman.
Todd Kortemeier is a sportswriter, editor and children’s book author from Minneapolis. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
