Downhill queen Lindsey Vonn to miss Sochi Winter Olympics
Absence of American ski champion will deprive Games of one of its biggest stars
American ski champion Lindsey Vonn is to miss next month’s Sochi Winter Olympics due to a right knee injury she sustained nearly a year ago, she said on Tuesday.
“I am devastated to announce that I will not be competing in Sochi,” Vonn said on her Facebook page.
“I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL [anterior cruciate ligament], but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level.
On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold
“I’m having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February.
“On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold.”
The 29-year-old Vonn, who has 59 World Cup race victories to her credit and who is the reigning Olympic downhill champion, badly injured the knee while competing in a super-G at the World Championships in February.
After reconstructive surgery on the joint and a lengthy lay-off, Vonn returned to World Cup competition at Lake Louise, Canada, in early December, but only after she reinjured the knee while training in Colorado in November.