“The conditions in Soelden are very good, but the visibility was not so easy today,” Riml said. “Still, I am told that things went well.”

Vonn underwent surgery in January to repair her ACL that she re-injured in a crash during training on Nov. 19, 2013 at Copper Mountain, Colo. After a fifth-place finish in a super G at Lake Louise, she appeared well on her way to staging a successful comeback to defend her Olympic gold medal at the Sochi Olympics. Vonn then aggravated the injury in Val d’Isere when her knee buckled landing off of a jump, making the instability of the joint all the more apparent.

The Olympic gold medalist and four-time overall champion originally injured her knee in a horrific crash at the World Championships super G in Schladming, Austria in 2013, tearing her ACL, MCL, and fracturing her tibial plateau. She ambitiously returned to snow on Aug. 31 of that year in Portillo, Chile and appeared strong and healthy until the crash in Copper pushed back her return. She ultimately decided to undergo surgery to repair her already reconstructed ACL.

Vonn has taken a more conservative approach in her recovery this time around and recently was given the green light to return to snow by renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews, after 10 months away from snow. Fans may recall that this time last year, Vonn was flirting with the idea of possibly racing in the Soelden opener, but her return to competition this time around will be more steady and intentional.

Source: fis-ski.com