ARE, Sweden (AP) — The celebratory smile on Mikaela Shiffrin’s face quickly turned to a look of serious concern for American teammate Lindsey Vonn.
Seconds after Shiffrin completed her winning run in the super-G at the skiing world championships Tuesday, Vonn was involved in a nasty crash.
Vonn straddled a gate mid-air and went careening into the safety nets.
Fortunately, Vonn was able to get up and ski down the hill after being tended to by medical personnel.
“Everybody, cross your fingers or hold your thumbs. That didn’t look like a nice crash,” Shiffrin said when interviewed over the public address system. “She went really hard into the fence. Hopefully she is OK.”
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 as she battles persistent pain in both of her knees.
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For Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic champion who is not too far behind Vonn on the all-time wins list, it marked her first major championship medal in a speed event.
Shiffrin has been unbeatable in super-G all season, winning all three World Cup super-Gs she entered and leading the discipline standings.
Still, this victory wasn’t without its complications: Shiffrin veered off line on the lower section of the course, flailed her arms mid-air to slow down and narrowly cleared the next gate, clipping it with her side.
She finished 0.02 seconds ahead of Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia of Italy. Corinne Suter of Switzerland was third, 0.05 behind, on a course that was shortened because of strong winds.
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AP Sports Writer Steve Douglas contributed to this report.
