An era has ended. One of the greats has put aside her race skis, ostensibly for good. At the beginning of this season, Lindsey Vonn was optimistic and determined. She had one last goal: become the most winningest ski racer of all time. Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 career victories was the only thing standing in her way.
“I hope to (break his record) before my knee gives out,” said Vonn before the season began.
But Alpine Ski Racing doesn’t care about goals. There’s a saying in the sport: it’s not a question of if you might get hurt, but when. Vonn’s career is littered with a trail of injuries. In 2013, she tore her ACL and MCL and fractured her tibial plateau. In the beginning of 2014, she reinjured the same knee, forcing her to miss the Olympic Games in Sochi. In 2016 she fractured the humerus bone of her right arm. And then, just days before her final race, Vonn crashed into the netting in the Super G in Are, Sweden, incurring a black eye and a dislocated rib.
Before this occurrence she wrote on Instagram: “My body is screaming for me to STOP and it’s time for me to listen.”
Despite everything, Vonn came back on Feb. 10, just five days after her harrowing crash in the Super G, and put everything on the line for one last race. For her, this would not just be some ceremonial pleasure cruise down the course. This was it.
“Guns ablaze,” Vonn said before the race. “All the way to the finish.”
And Vonn did just that in her last Downhill. From a slow start, Vonn built up speed until she was hurtling down the course. She crossed the finish line in the green, a look of pure joy on her face as she waved and bowed to the crowd.
Stenmark, the legend himself, waited in the wings to hand Vonn a bouquet and congratulate her on her storied career. Vonn ended the day in third, behind Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia and Corinne Suter of Switzerland, but she was happy with her performance. “It’s been an amazing career, and to end on this note…means everything to me.”
So, Lindsey Vonn, a legend in her own right, ends her career where she belongs: on the podium.