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Lindsey Vonn rips officials over crash
Lindsey Vonn said Friday her rehab from knee surgery is going well and she hopes to be stronger than ever when she tries to defend her Olympic downhill title a year from now in Sochi, Russia.
She also said she hopes future race juries at major championships will be more mindful of athletes' safety than the one that officiated over the women's super-G at the world alpine championships in Schladming, Austria on Feb. 5.
"I don't think the jury made the right call," Vonn said to journalists on a teleconference, 17 days after she crashed landing a jump in the world championships super-G, tearing the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in her right knee and fracturing the tibia bone in her right leg.
"The fog came in and delayed the start of the race. We were waiting on the edge of our seats for hours. I had no chance to go back to my bus and relax. When I was at the start, I was ready to go, but I had no idea what the course conditions were. I inspected the course at 8 a.m. and I ran the course at about 3:15.
MORE: What does Vonn injury mean for Sochi Olympics?
"I skied aggressively, but when I was skiing, I couldn't believe the conditions. The snow was too soft. It had broken down. I didn't think it was safe."
Danger lurked for Vonn off a big jump that she took fast and flew farther than the rest of the skiers that day. Her right ski landed in a pile of soft snow.
"My right knee completely stopped," she said. "That's when my knee buckled, and I flipped over the tip."
When she came to a stop, while lying on the snow she actually called her coach, Alex Hoedlmoser, who was one of the race jury members.
"I told Alex, 'They should stop the race. It's not safe to run,' " Vonn said. "Apparently they didn't do that. I just hope in the future they really think hard about what the conditions are like, because athlete safety should come first and foremost."
Vonn, 28, said the surgery, performed Feb. 10 by Bill Sterett of Vail-Summit Orthopaedics, the head physician for the U.S. women's alpine team, went well.
"There was nothing unexpected," she said. "Nothing that will take longer than expected.
"I have no doubt that I will be able to ski as well or better."
She hopes to be on skis in November and fully ready to defend her Olympic title in February.
She also hopes to resume her records chase. She has 59 career World Cup victories, three shy of the all-time women's mark held by Austria's legendary Annemarie Moser-Proell.
She also said she hopes future race juries at major championships will be more mindful of athletes' safety than the one that officiated over the women's super-G at the world alpine championships in Schladming, Austria on Feb. 5.
"I don't think the jury made the right call," Vonn said to journalists on a teleconference, 17 days after she crashed landing a jump in the world championships super-G, tearing the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in her right knee and fracturing the tibia bone in her right leg.
"The fog came in and delayed the start of the race. We were waiting on the edge of our seats for hours. I had no chance to go back to my bus and relax. When I was at the start, I was ready to go, but I had no idea what the course conditions were. I inspected the course at 8 a.m. and I ran the course at about 3:15.
MORE: What does Vonn injury mean for Sochi Olympics?
"I skied aggressively, but when I was skiing, I couldn't believe the conditions. The snow was too soft. It had broken down. I didn't think it was safe."
Danger lurked for Vonn off a big jump that she took fast and flew farther than the rest of the skiers that day. Her right ski landed in a pile of soft snow.
"My right knee completely stopped," she said. "That's when my knee buckled, and I flipped over the tip."
When she came to a stop, while lying on the snow she actually called her coach, Alex Hoedlmoser, who was one of the race jury members.
"I told Alex, 'They should stop the race. It's not safe to run,' " Vonn said. "Apparently they didn't do that. I just hope in the future they really think hard about what the conditions are like, because athlete safety should come first and foremost."
Vonn, 28, said the surgery, performed Feb. 10 by Bill Sterett of Vail-Summit Orthopaedics, the head physician for the U.S. women's alpine team, went well.
"There was nothing unexpected," she said. "Nothing that will take longer than expected.
"I have no doubt that I will be able to ski as well or better."
She hopes to be on skis in November and fully ready to defend her Olympic title in February.
She also hopes to resume her records chase. She has 59 career World Cup victories, three shy of the all-time women's mark held by Austria's legendary Annemarie Moser-Proell.
Source: USA Today
