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Winter Olympics: In Games debut, Lindsey Vonn finishes out of medals in super-G

 
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 17:  Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 17, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.  (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 775095515
PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 17: Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts at the finish during the Alpine Skiing Ladies Super-G on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Jeongseon Alpine Centre on February 17, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) 775095515
Published Feb. 17, 2018

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Lindsey Vonn arrived at her pre-Olympic news conference wearing gloves, which seemed a little odd because she was inside a warm auditorium, but then again, Vonn isn't willing to leave anything to chance.

"Don't want to get sick," she said. "Just being safe. I wore them on the plane over here as well. Just trying to stay healthy."

Can you blame her, given all the injuries and setbacks that have disrupted her career the past few years? She probably wanted to seal herself in bubble wrap, then be quarantined as she prepared for her final Olympics in a remarkable skiing career.

At 33, she's trying to become the oldest woman to win an Olympic Alpine medal. She missed on her first try.

In the super-G today (Friday night EST) — a race that was delayed an hour due to strong winds at the top of the course — she was the first to go and had a fast run going before a mistake near the bottom cost her valuable time.

She knew right away she was in trouble. She put her head in her hands, held out her ski poles to her sides, smiled, shrugged and said, "I tried."

She was out of the medals by the time the opening eight racers had finished.

The Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka, a multiple world champion in snowboarding, made a stunning run from back in the pack to take the super-G title.

Ledecka, the 26th racer to take the course, blazed through the course in a time of 1 minute, 21.11 seconds. Defending champion Anna Veith of Austria earned the silver, finishing 0.01 seconds back, and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein captured bronze.

Vonn, who went too wide on a turn near the bottom, finished in a tie for sixth in 1:21.49. She called Ledecka's win "definitely shocking."

"I wish I had so much athleticism as she has and hop from sport to sport," Vonn said. "I feel like in the Olympics a lot of weird things happen."

She wrote on Twitter: "Frustrating to be so close to the podium and to have made such a big mistake … but that's ski racing. I'm proud of the way I skied and how I attacked the course. I gave it my all and came up short. That's life. Now it's on to the Downhill!"

Finally healthy again, Vonn arrived in South Korea determined to return to the top of the podium after a devastating knee injury forced her to miss the 2014 Olympics.

"Obviously I've been waiting a very long time for these Olympics," she said at her news conference. "Had a lot of ups and downs since Vancouver (in 2010). But I feel like I'm coming into these Olympics on a hot streak. I'm skiing exceptionally well. I have a lot of confidence."

Vonn owns two medals for her career, a gold medal in downhill and bronze in the super-G in 2010. Eight years later, she plans to compete in three events: super-G, downhill and combined.

Vonn estimated that she has spent three years combined rehabbing from her assortment of injuries, but mostly her right knee. She suffered a torn ACL and MCL in that knee and also broke her shin bone during a crash at the 2013 World Championships. Upon her return, she reinjured her ACL in the same knee during a training run, which knocked her out of the 2014 Olympics.

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She also fractured her left ankle while training in 2015, broke a bone in her right arm in 2016 and had her 2016 season end prematurely because of tibial plateau fractures.

Vonn revealed a different side of herself at her news conference when asked about her grandfather Don Kildow, who died in November at age 88. She paused to compose herself, then cried as she talked about his influence on her.

"I just want so badly to do well for him," she said. "I miss him so much. He's been such a big part of my life, and I really hoped that he would be alive to see me. But I'm going to win for him."