CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy \u2014 Lindsey Vonn is finally ready to open her injury-delayed final full season on the skiing World Cup circuit \u2014 and she couldn’t be happier to do it in Cortina d’Ampezzo.<\/p>\n
Vonn says, “If there’s a place \u2014 minus Lake Louise \u2014 that I could make a return then I think Cortina would be No. 1 on my list.”<\/p>\n
Vonn has won 12 of her 82 World Cup victories in Cortina.<\/p>\n
The resort, nicknamed the “queen” of the Dolomites Range, is also where Vonn earned her first World Cup podium result back in 2004 and where she broke the all-time women’s wins record with victory No. 63 in 2015 \u2014 with a surprise visit from then-boyfriend Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n
Vonn, who injured her left knee a week before her scheduled first race in Lake Louise, Alberta, in November, has had only eight days of skiing to prepare for this weekend’s races \u2014 downhills Friday and Saturday followed by a super-G on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday with her dog Lucy sitting on her lap, Vonn said: “I feel like it’s not really the skiing that I need, it’s just being healthy and strong. Maybe I’m not 100 percent healthy but I am definitely 100 percent strong.”<\/p>\n
Goggia plans return from injury<\/p>\n
Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia is planning to return from injury this month but remains in doubt for the upcoming world championships.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the Italian Winter Sports Federation says Goggia will participate in downhill training in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, beginning Jan. 24 with an eye toward competing in downhill and super-G races at the German resort on Jan. 26 and 27, respectively.<\/p>\n
Goggia broke a bone in her right ankle during a fall in giant slalom training in Hintertux, Austria, in October.<\/p>\n
Goggia’s performance in Garmisch will determine if she competes at the worlds in Are, Sweden, which open Feb. 5.<\/p>\n
Goggia won gold in downhill at the Pyeongchang Games last season, finishing ahead of Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway and Lindsey Vonn of the United States.<\/p>\n
Goggia also won the season-long World Cup downhill title last season.<\/p>\n