It's not the seat belts or safety equipment that caused Earnheart to hit the wall. If Vonn's knee gives out at a very inopportune moment the results could be catastrophic. Doesn't matter how old or young she is or how hard she trains. If you have a blowout at high speed in a tight turn it doesn't really matter how great of a driver you are.
I truly do believe that the arrival of Shiffrin on the scene will work to speed up Vonn's retirement. It is clear that the only reason Vonn is still skiing is to chase records but now with Shiffrin here who is arguably a better racer that Vonn I can see Vonns hopes of beating records drying up. Lindsey Vonn was a great ski racer no matter where she stands with regard to records and I think it is really unfortunate that there is a huge potential now for her legacy to be one where an injury put her out in search of records. I'd much rather see her retire on her own terms than to be forced to leave.
Erik Guay earlier this season was a really good example of someone retiring on their own terms. Sure, he's not anywhere near the level of Vonn but it is a similar situation. He saw his friend get extremely injured and chose to leave before being forced to do so.
The mind is still ready to compete, the body is saying something different, she needs to listen to her body, it's been over for years, she's been a great champion
Maybe--depends how bad the nerve injury is. If she had a bad injury she would have had a foot drop--pretty obvious and she wouldn't have tried to ski on it and probably couldn't have. When your arm or leg falls asleep--that's mild neuropraxia, over in a few seconds to minutes. Time will tell.Quote:
Originally Posted by Summit
NOt just Shifferin, But Hirscher as well. The guy is ticking off wins. Only thing keeping him from doing it quickly is his lack of speed participation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pass Rat
Vonn announces she is done
Probably a smart decision. Still a sad day.
Sad to see her go out this way but that's life as a speed skier. Body gets beaten up so much that after a certain point you just can't continue.
Still amazing to see what she has accomplished.
Sad to see her go, but it was a legacy she left behind....
Ain’t so bad...
82 WC wins
20 WC titles
3 Olympic medals
7 World Championship medals
Glad she made this move. Sorry to see her go but happy for her, too.
Sad to see her go but I'd rather see her go out like this than on a stretcher after her knee gave out on a downhill run.Quote:
Originally Posted by plugboots
Let's put Vonn's career into a little better perspective:
Her individual career has been better than the entire history of the Italian women's team.
The 82 WC wins is the same at their entire women's roster (past and present).
20 WC titles to 5 Italy Women (27 men)
Great article in the New York Times today....
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/s...gtype=Homepage
Nice tribute.Quote:
Originally Posted by From_the_NEK
She may or may not be the greatest ever, but goddamn she is one of the toughest ever. What a badass.Quote:
Originally Posted by m2711c
"At this point, arthritis is the least of my worries and I hope I can still ski with my kids some day. But even knowing what lies ahead for my body, it has still been worth it. I have always worked hard, fought back and dealt with whatever comes my way because I simply love skiing. At no point have I ever regretted my injuries, my comebacks, the therapy, the preparation and even the pain because in my mind it has always been worth it."
I couldn't imagine being in her position right now. Based on this statement things sound far worse than she had originally let on. I am very surprised she'll be starting next week.
I wonder if next week will be a celebratory run ala Lasse Kjus.
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I realized I meant Didier Cuche not Kjus. And not on wooden gear, but a ceremonial final race. Like Mancuso did in a Wonder Woman suit.
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Absolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Kanone
I hoped she'd break the record. Bummer to end this way. I predict she'll step right into a Hollywood acting career. Slim out her muscular build, continue life in the public eye, hopefully more naked pullups.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41808m
She just crashed again today on the Super-G. Was able to ski down again on her own, so probably no serious injury. Feel sorry for her though.
https://www.nbcsports.com/video/lind...super-g-careerQuote:
Originally Posted by LiveLarger
Nasty double fall line right after the gate. She missed her line pretty badly. She didn't clip the gate; she went thru it. ....3 points. What does this do to her mindset for the DH?
Wishing her the best...
She should ski the DH switch on park skis because why not?
I'm very surprised she actually started today with the goal to seriously compete. It's too bad really because she had an amazing career and going out with a DNF today and quite possibly a DNF tomorrow is probably not the way she wants to finish out her career. Perhaps she should take a page from Didier's book tomorrow and do something for the fans and all those who look up to her.
And there's no doubt that she was going for the win today. The line she took was extremely aggressive and unfortunately she was a little too aggressive managing to catch a gate on her way down.
Full Vonn interview if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATtk0ErFhtI&t=77s