Lindsey Vonn Crashed in the Super-G at the World Championships Just After Announcing Upcoming Retirement

(ARE, Sweden) — Lindsey Vonn crashed in the super-G at the world championships Tuesday, straddling a gate mid-air and ending up in the safety nets.

Vonn, however, got up and skied down the hill after being tended to by medical personnel.

“Everyone was screaming as she crashed jumping through the gates,” Austrian racer Nicole Schmidhofer said. “That’s Lindsey. She (goes) 100 percent or nothing. That’s why she has won so many races and why she’s an Olympic champion.”

The 34-year-old Vonn, the all-time leader in women’s World Cup wins, announced last week that she will retire after racing the super-G and downhill at the worlds.

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It’s been an emotional 2 weeks making the hardest decision of my life, but I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing. I will compete at the World Championships in Downhill and SG next week in Åre, Sweden and they will be the final races of my career. I have always pushed the limits of ski racing and it has allowed me to have amazing success but also dramatic crashes. I have never wanted the storyline of my career to be about injuries and because of that I decided not to tell anyone that I underwent surgery this past spring. A large portion of cartilage that had delaminated from my bone was removed. My crash in Lake Louise last year was much more painful than I let on, but I continued to race because I wanted to win a medal in the Olympics for my late grandfather. Again, I rehabbed my way back this summer and I felt better than I had in a long time. Then I crashed in Copper this November and injured my left knee, tearing my LCL plus sustaining 3 fractures. Despite extensive therapy, training and a knee brace, I am not able make the turns necessary to compete the way I know I can. My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it’s time for me to listen. Honestly, retiring isn’t what upsets me. Retiring without reaching my goal is what will stay with me forever. However, I can look back at 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, 7 World Championship medals and say that I have accomplished something that no other woman in HISTORY has ever done, and that is something that I will be proud of FOREVER! I always say, “Never give up!” So to all the the kids out there, to my fans who have sent me messages of encouragement to keep going… I need to tell you that I’m not giving up! I’m just starting a new chapter. Don’t lose faith in your dreams, keep fighting for what you love, and if you always give everything you have you’ll be happy no matter what the outcome. Thank you for the amazing years, for always supporting me, and for making my job so fun. Can’t wait to see some of you in the finish in Åre where I will give it my all one last time. Love always, Lindsey

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Feb 1, 2019 at 7:22am PST

Vonn, who has been slowed by persistent pain in both of her knees, lost control in mid-air and skiing through a gate. The panel fitted between the two poles detached and got stuck on her boots.

When she hit the ground she slid downhill face first, using her hands to keep her head from hitting the snow, then came to a stop when she hit the safety netting.

“Everybody, cross your fingers or hold your thumbs. That didn’t look like a nice crash,” said American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the race. “She went really hard into the fence. Hopefully she is OK.”

Vonn was wearing an inflatable safety air bag under her racing suit.

“It inflated as she started to tumble over and it helped soften the impact when she hit the safety nets,” said Marco Pastore, who represents air bag producer Dainese.

Upon seeing Vonn’s crash, Shiffrin looked away from the big video screen in the finish area. Sofia Goggia, who took silver, clasped her helmet with both hands, and the crowd gasped. One American fan appeared to be crying.

Vonn was seen stretching both of her legs during TV interviews and appeared to be in pain — at the same time as the American anthem was being played to honor Shiffrin’s victory.

Vonn is slated to conclude her career with Sunday’s downhill.

“Hopefully we see her in the downhill,” Schmidhofer said.

On a highly technical course, many other skiers also failed to finish their runs. American teammate Laurenne Ross also crashed, as did Christina Ager of Austria.

Shiffrin also narrowly avoided crashing, only barely clearing a gate near the end of her run.

Of the 43 starters, 14 failed to finish.

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