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February 9, 2009 — VAL d'ISERE, France - It's now official: Lindsey Vonn, who came of age training on Vail's Golden Peak and free skiing in the Back Bowls, is the best American woman ski racer of all time.
After collecting gold in the 2009 FIS World Championship super-G last week, Ski Club Vail product Vonn stormed to another win in Monday's downhill at Val d'Isere and was crowned the official queen of speed.
Vonn clocked a 1:30.31 on the steep and technical course, while Swiss youngster Lara Gut was second, .52 seconds behind. It was the first U.S. women's downhill title since Hilary Lindh won in 1997.
"I was hoping in these World Championships to win one gold medal. To win two is so unbelievable," Vonn said. "I skied with my heart. It was an incredible day for me. I work so hard and I live for a day like today."
The World Championship downhill was no exception as fresh snow in Val d'Isere delayed the women's start, originally scheduled for Sunday. In addition to the overtly challenging technical components of the hill, which Vonn called the most demanding on the women's circuit, the delay added another mental hurdle for racers to overcome. On Sunday, Women's Head Coach Jim Tracy said the woman with the toughest mind would win the race.
"It was a tough day for me. I was really nervous. We've had two days off and I've been thinking about being disqualified in the super combined, but really getting excited about the downhill," Vonn said. "I was nervous in the start but my husband was there and he got me calmed down and in the right mood for attacking. And that's what I did."
Vonn and her husband Thomas, who was also a World Cup racer for the U.S., are a special team in the ski racing world, as he travels along with her to help manage her time, equipment and in cases like Monday, to help Vonn through the mental challenges of racing.
"She was nervous, she specifically asked me to be in the start with her and she's never done that before. I tried to keep my cool and keep her level, take away the hype of the race," he said.
Striking the right balance of mental calm and furor, Vonn also held a slightly higher line from start to finish and perfectly executed the big carousel turns at key points in the race to win over Gut, who held the early lead for 15 racers. Prior to the race, Vonn knew she had a good feeling on her skis and was concentrating during training on executing her line to a tee.
"I fought the whole way down and I nailed the bottom section where it was really important to carry speed," she said.
Performing well at marquee races like World Championships, Vonn said, is not only significant and rewarding in her own career, but also in creating excitement about ski racing.
"I don't know if it's going to change my life but I really hope that this helps create awareness. Even with the first gold medal here it's creating a lot of excitement about skiing. And going into the Olympics, more people will be excited about the sport and that's what I want to do. The more success we have will help people become more aware of the sport. I want people to know my sport is the best in the world," Vonn said.
Another North American win in the men's downhill by Canadian John Kucera on Saturday will add to the exposure, Vonn added.
"North Americans have a good heart and we fight really hard. And we're always skiing for ourselves and have our own goals and motivations and just fight. We want to win as bad, or more, than anyone else," she said.
On the men's side Monday, Bode Miller had a huge lead after the downhill portion of the super-combined, but skied out in the slalom to hand the win to Norwegian great Aksel Lund Svindal. American Ted Ligety was disqualified for an equipment irregularity.
With the pressure now totally off Vonn, she'll turn her focus to upcoming technical events.
"Now it's important to get some training. I need to ski some giant slalom and slalom before the races. Slalom has been going very well, I won the last race in Garmisch, so I just have to get some training. Hopefully, I can get two solid runs and be on the podium," Vonn said.
Vonn now has four career Worlds medals (two silver in 2007), matching Tamara McKinney for the most World Championship medals for an American woman with four.
Vonn is also now only the second American woman to win two gold medals at the World Championships. Andrea Mead Lawrence nabbed two in 1952 at Oslo, Norway, when the Worlds where also the Olympics.
Other notable Americans who have win gold at past Worlds include Lindh (Sestriere, 1997), Picabo Street (Sierra Nevada, 1996), McKinney (Vail, 1989), Diann Roffe (Bormio, 1995), Barbara Cochran (Sapporo, 1972) and Gretchen Fraser (St. Moritz, 1948).
Stacey Cook (Mammoth, CA) finished the downhill in ninth place on Monday, which she said was a great confidence booster. Running early, she came through the finish nine tenths of a second in the lead.
"It felt good to come down in the lead at the World Champs. That was pretty special," Cook said. "All I wanted to do at the top was execute my line and ski my plan and I think, considering how bad the year's been so far, that it was a great achievement for me, to have a little bit of confidence in the start and be able to do what I wanted to do."
Cook handled the added pressure of delays well, trying to keep things light.
"I came here and I was just having fun, I've been freesking a lot more than normal and just enjoying my time with my teammates and everyone and I think it's transferring into skiing so I'll just keep that going," she said.
World Championship racing continues Wednesday with the men's team event, which starts with a first run at 5 a.m. ET and second run at 11 a.m. ET.
The next women's race is the giant slalom on Thursday, Feb. 12. Fans can tune in for live action at UniversalSports.com. NBC, which broadcast the men's downhill last weekend, will provide highlights from Val d'Isere Sunday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. ET.
2009 FIS ALPINE SKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Val d'Isere, France - Feb. 9, 2009
Women's Downhill
1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:30.31
2. Lara Gut, Switzerland, 1:30.83
3. Nadia Fanchini, Italy, 1:30.88
4. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 1:31.24
5. Marion Rolland, France, 1:31.45
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9. Stacey Cook, Mammoth, CA, 1:32.37
27. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, VT, 1:35.40
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