{"id":1303135,"date":"2019-02-01T10:09:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T17:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/?p=445623"},"modified":"2019-02-01T10:09:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T17:09:07","slug":"breaking-vails-lindsey-vonn-says-shes-retiring-after-worlds-with-knees-broken-beyond-repair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/breaking-vails-lindsey-vonn-says-shes-retiring-after-worlds-with-knees-broken-beyond-repair\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking: Vail\u2019s Lindsey Vonn says she\u2019s retiring after worlds with knees \u2018broken beyond repair\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE \u2013 In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 file photo, United States\u2019 Lindsey Vonn prepares for an alpine ski, women\u2019s World Cup downhill training session in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy. The women\u2019s all-time leader in World Cup wins announced Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in Sweden. The 34-year-old Vonn had been planning to retire in December but changed her plans because of persistent pain in both of her knees, which she fully realized after failing to finish a race in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, last month. (AP Photo\/Alessandro Trovati, File )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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FILE \u2013 In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019 filer, United States\u2019 Lindsey Vonn holds a bunch of flowers after completing an alpine ski, women\u2019s World Cup super-G in Cortina D\u2019Ampezzo, Italy. Lindsey Vonn has only two races remaining on her aching knees. The women\u2019s all-time leader in World Cup wins announced Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in Sweden. The 34-year-old Vonn had been planning to retire in December but changed her plans because of persistent pain in both of her knees, which she fully realized after failing to finish a race in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, last month. (AP Photo\/Giovanni Auletta, File )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts in the finish area after completing the Women\u2019s downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. (AP Photo\/Gero Breloer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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FILE \u2013 In this March 13, 2010, file photo, Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, poses in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, with all the Olympic medals and Women\u2019s World Cup trophies she won in her career. Vonn announced Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in Sweden. (AP Photo\/Giovanni Auletta, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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FILE -In this Feb. 20, 2010 file photo, bronze medalist Lindsey Vonn of the United States hold the Stars and Stripes during the flower ceremony for the Women\u2019s super-G at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia. Vonn announced Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in Sweden. (AP Photo\/Gero Breloer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lindsey Vonn has only two races remaining on her aching knees.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s all-time leader in World Cup wins announced Friday that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in Sweden.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old Vonn had been planning to retire in December but changed her plans because of persistent pain in both of her knees, which she fully realized after failing to finish a race in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, last month<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an emotional 2 weeks making the hardest decision of my life, but I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing,\u201d Vonn wrote on Instagram . \u201cI will compete at the World Championships in Downhill and SG (super-G) next week in Are, Sweden and they will be the final races of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It’s been an emotional 2 weeks making the hardest decision of my life, but I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing. I will compete at the World Championships in Downhill and SG next week in \u00c5re, Sweden and they will be the final races of my career. I have always pushed the limits of ski racing and it has allowed me to have amazing success but also dramatic crashes. I have never wanted the storyline of my career to be about injuries and because of that I decided not to tell anyone that I underwent surgery this past spring. A large portion of cartilage that had delaminated from my bone was removed. My crash in Lake Louise last year was much more painful than I let on, but I continued to race because I wanted to win a medal in the Olympics for my late grandfather. Again, I rehabbed my way back this summer and I felt better than I had in a long time. Then I crashed in Copper this November and injured my left knee, tearing my LCL plus sustaining 3 fractures. Despite extensive therapy, training and a knee brace, I am not able make the turns necessary to compete the way I know I can. My body is broken beyond repair and it isn’t letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it’s time for me to listen. Honestly, retiring isn’t what upsets me. Retiring without reaching my goal is what will stay with me forever. However, I can look back at 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, 7 World Championship medals and say that I have accomplished something that no other woman in HISTORY has ever done, and that is something that I will be proud of FOREVER! I always say, “Never give up!” So to all the the kids out there, to my fans who have sent me messages of encouragement to keep going\u2026 I need to tell you that I’m not giving up! I’m just starting a new chapter. Don’t lose faith in your dreams, keep fighting for what you love, and if you always give everything you have you’ll be happy no matter what the outcome. Thank you for the amazing years, for always supporting me, and for making my job so fun. Can’t wait to see some of you in the finish in \u00c5re where I will give it my all one last time. Love always, Lindsey<\/a><\/p>\n

A post shared by L I N D S E Y \u2022 V O N N<\/a> (@lindseyvonn) on

The worlds open with the women\u2019s super-G on Tuesday in the Swedish resort of Are. The women\u2019s downhill is scheduled for Feb. 10.<\/p>\n

Vonn\u2019s right knee is permanently damaged from previous crashes. The American has also torn ACLs, suffered fractures near her left knee, broken her ankle, sliced her right thumb, had a concussion and more. She\u2019s limited now to about three runs per day, and her aching body can\u2019t handle the workload of other skiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy body is broken beyond repair and it isn\u2019t letting me have the final season I dreamed of,\u201d Vonn said. \u201cMy body is screaming at me to STOP and it\u2019s time for me to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, with 82 World Cup wins, Vonn will not be able to match the overall record of 86 held by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, retiring isn\u2019t what upsets me. Retiring without reaching my goal is what will stay with me forever,\u201d Vonn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I can look back at 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, 7 World Championship medals and say that I have accomplished something that no other woman in HISTORY has ever done, and that is something that I will be proud of FOREVER!\u201d<\/p>\n

In her announcement, Vonn also made public for the first time that she had surgery following last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large portion of cartilage that had delaminated from my bone was removed,\u201d Vonn said, without specifying which bone. \u201cMy crash in Lake Louise last year was much more painful than I let on, but I continued to race because I wanted to win a medal in the Olympics for my late grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vonn achieved that goal by winning a bronze medal in downhill at last year\u2019s Pyeongchang Games.<\/p>\n

But then she crashed again during training in Copper Mountain, Colorado, in November, and tore the lateral collateral ligament and sustained three fractures in her left knee.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite extensive therapy, training and a knee brace, I am not able make the turns necessary to compete the way I know I can,\u201d Vonn said.<\/p>\n

Retiring in Sweden brings Vonn full circle.<\/p>\n

She won the first two major championship medals of her career \u2014 two silvers \u2014 at the 2007 worlds in Are. Vonn has also won seven World Cup races at the Swedish resort, including two giant slaloms, and has 12 podiums overall there.<\/p>\n

At last season\u2019s World Cup finals in Are, Vonn won the downhill and finished third in the super-G.<\/p>\n

So broken knees and all, nobody will be counting Vonn out as a contender in her final races.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t wait to see some of you in the finish in Are,\u201d she said, \u201cwhere I will give it my all one last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Vail Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FILE \u2013 In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 file photo, United States\u2019 Lindsey Vonn prepares for an alpine ski, women\u2019s World Cup downhill training session in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy. The women\u2019s all-time leader in World Cup wins announced Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 that she will retire from ski racing after this month\u2019s world championships in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1303135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-13 18:32:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1303135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1303135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1303135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1303135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}