Alpine skiing-Vonn feels stronger, fitter and faster as Cortina looms

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ST MORITZ, Switzerland, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Alpine ski great Lindsey Vonn said she felt stronger, fitter and faster as the American prepares for what would be an extraordinary Olympic comeback at the age of 41.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion spoke to media in the Swiss resort of St Moritz on Wednesday after setting the pace in first training for her opening downhill of the World Cup season on the Corviglia piste.

“I’m physically in possibly the best shape I’ve ever been in, which is fun, and my body doesn’t hurt. So I think that’s the best part of all,” she said.

The four-times overall World Cup champion, with 82 wins, returned last season after nearly six years out and following successful knee surgery.

CHECKED ALL THE BOXES

She said on Wednesday she was thinner than she had wanted to be last year and a goal for the summer was to get stronger. Mission accomplished.

“I’m still quite a bit lighter than I was when I was racing in my prime but I was able to gain about 12 pounds this summer, which I was thrilled about,” she said.

“It took a lot of hard work and was probably the most disciplined I’ve ever been with my diet and just how I approached the entire summer.

“I think for my age, I feel pretty damned good. I probably feel better now than I did before I tore my first ACL in 2013,” she added.

Equipment was another big thing she worked on last season and she said that was sorted, particularly the boots she was now using.

After trying the latest designs, Vonn went back to an old pair “collecting dust in the basement” that nobody else used any more but that had worked for her and provided a starting point for further development.

“I’m really happy with where I am. So I basically checked all the boxes: Physically, equipment, coaches — everything is lined up as literally the best it possibly could be,” she said.

“I couldn’t be in a better position so that makes me very excited, because then that means I can ski as fast as my mind wants to ski.” 

Vonn, who has added Norway’s former men’s Olympic downhill champion Aksel Lund Svindal to her coaching team, added that she would not be doing anything stupid as she tried to win races, in a sport where risk goes with the terrain.

“We’re tactical in the way we approach every race, every run,” she said. “I think some people have the impression that I am reckless because I push the limits, but I’m actually very calculated.

“I don’t want to put myself in any undue physical risk.”

CORTINA IS THE DRAW, CORTINA IS THE REASON

If she qualifies, Vonn can become the oldest woman to medal in Olympic Alpine skiing.

The American said that even then she would not have contemplated a comeback anywhere other than in 2026 host resort Cortina d’Ampezzo.

“If the Olympics were in some random place, like in an obscure land that I’ve never been to, I don’t think I would have any interest in doing it,” she added.

“Cortina is the draw. Cortina is the reason. It’s a very meaningful place to me.

“It’s where I got my first podium. I broke the women’s World Cup win record and I had a couple of wins there. It feels like home. So the fact I can race for the first time on a track that I actually know well is a huge opportunity.”  

(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)