Lindsey Vonn, 41, wins World Cup downhill, 1st victory in 8 years

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The queen of downhill skiing is good and genuinely back. At property 41, inactive faster than the rest.

Lindsey Vonn raced to a stunningly accelerated triumph successful a World Cup downhill astatine St. Moritz connected Friday to gain her archetypal triumph successful astir 8 years — and the archetypal successful her comeback with titanium implants successful her close genu aft a five-year retirement.

Several large rivals, including World Cup wide winners Federica Brignone and Lara Gut-Behrami, Olympic champion Corinne Suter and emerging U.S. imaginable Lauren Macuga did not contention connected Friday due to the fact that of injuries.

Vonn seized the pb by an astonishing 1.16 seconds up of Mirjam Puchner of Austria. Even wilder was that Vonn trailed by 0.61 aft the archetypal 2 clip checks astatine the Swiss resort.

The skis great's pb was aboriginal chopped to 0.98 — inactive a monolithic borderline successful downhill — erstwhile unheralded Magdalena Egger took 2nd spot from teammate Puchner.

"It was an astonishing day, I couldn't beryllium happier, beauteous emotional," Vonn told Swiss broadcaster RTS. "I felt bully this summertime but I wasn't definite however accelerated I was. I conjecture I cognize present however accelerated I am."

Soon after, Vonn shed tears connected the podium successful the decorativeness country erstwhile The Star-Spangled Banner played.

It was a cleanable commencement to her Olympic play to get a archetypal triumph since a downhill successful March 2018 astatine Are, Sweden.

Vonn's superb debut moving with caller manager Aksel Lund Svindal, a men's downhill large who won the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics title, suggests their stellar concern is paying off.

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Her tally Friday looked regular erstwhile she dropped tenths of seconds to Puchner's clip connected the apical fractional of the sunbathed Corviglia course, wherever the decorativeness is astatine altitude supra 6,500 feet.

Vonn past was faster than anyone done the adjacent velocity checks, touching 74 miles per hour, and posted the fastest clip splits for the bottommost half.

She skied done the decorativeness country and bumped against the inflated information barrier, laic down successful the snowfall and raised her arms connected seeing her time. Vonn got up, punched the aerial with her close fist and shrieked with joyousness earlier putting her hands to her near feature successful the benignant of Steph Curry's "Night, night" gesture.

Olympic goals

The 2010 Olympic champion is targeting different golden medal astatine the Milan Cortina Winter Games successful February. Women's Alpine skiing is astatine the storied Cortina d'Ampezzo people successful the Dolomites, which Vonn has mastered successful her vocation with 12 World Cup contention wins.

"Obviously my extremity is Cortina but if this is the mode we commencement I deliberation I'm successful a bully spot," said Vonn, who volition beryllium favored for different downhill triumph Saturday astatine St. Moritz.

Vonn told CBS Sunday Morning earlier this twelvemonth that she "never thought" she would beryllium talking astir going to the Olympics again. Just talking astir heading to Italy means she is "already winning," she said.

"I volition beryllium astatine a disadvantage," Vonn said. "I americium 40, and astatine that clip adjacent twelvemonth I volition beryllium 41. But I cognize my skiing is there. I deliberation I'm really skiing amended present than I was past fewer years of my career."

Vonn said she has been welcomed — and teased — by younger skiers connected the U.S. team.

"There's 1 miss that calls maine Grandma, which I don't precisely appreciate!" Vonn said. "But there's decidedly immoderate jokes astir the squad that, you know, I raced successful my archetypal Olympics earlier 1 of the girls was born."

44 wins successful 24 years

Friday's contention was Vonn's 125th commencement successful World Cup downhill successful her storied career, 24 years aft the archetypal astatine Lake Louise, Canada.

She has present won a record-extending 44 of them, including astatine St. Moritz successful 2012, and has 83 contention victories crossed each World Cup disciplines.

Her erstwhile triumph astatine Are came weeks aft Vonn took bronze successful downhill astatine the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games successful South Korea won by Sofia Goggia, who placed 4th Friday. That Olympics was Vonn's 4th and the past she attended.

She besides won golden successful downhill astatine the Vancouver Olympics successful 2010, and astatine the 2009 satellite championships astatine Val d'Isere, France.

Such is Vonn's dominance successful downhill, she has much World Cup wins successful the fastest subject than the different 60 racers combined who started Friday, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation said.

A bid of superior injuries this twelvemonth robbed Friday's contention of World Cup wide winners Federica Brignone and Lara Gut-Behrami, Olympic champion Corinne Suter and emerging U.S. imaginable Lauren Macuga.

Two-time Olympic golden medalist Michelle Gisin had country connected her backmost Thursday, aft crashing hard successful a grooming tally astatine the fastest portion of the St. Moritz course.

"I consciousness truthful atrocious for Michelle, but that's skis racing," said Vonn.