Lindsey Vonn (nee Kildow), 23, has made history. She is the only American woman in 12 years to receive a World Cup crystal globe when she won the downhill title on Friday in Whistler, British Columbia. Lindsey shared that "this has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I feel like my childhood dreams are coming true and you can't get any better than that. That's a big check off on my lifetime goals."
Lindsey has an interesting story. She was inspired in grade school by Olympic great - Picabo Street. Picabo was Vonn's idol and Vonn recounts about their first meeting years ago that "meeting her, it was pretty much all over for me. I wanted to be just like her." Street recalls telling Lindsey, "Don't hunch over. Stand up straight. Stand tall. Be proud." At that time, Picabo was in her early 20s, an extremely talented skier and an emerging Olympic star.
Time has shown the truth of Lindsey's words. Two weeks ago, she won the 9th World Cup downhill race of her career in Sestriere, Italy, tying her with Picabo Street and Daron Rahlves for the most in U.S. history. Fast forward to Friday, February 22 and Lindsey has entered the history books again as the first American woman to claim the downhill title since Picabo Street in 1996.
Lindsey has impressed many around her. Her mother, Linda Krohn, says about Lindsey, "when she was 8 years old, she wrote something for school and she said, 'I want to win more medals than anyone ever did. She's always been that way. Really nothing she does surprises me." Her husband, ex-racer Thomas Vonn, says that "she's been a really good skier for a long time, and now she's learning how to dot the I's and cross the T's. She's getting better and smarter ever year." Thomas travels with Lindsey as an unofficial coach and equipment technician. Others are equally bullish about Lindsey. Patrick Riml, U.S. Head women's coach, says that Vonn "is very determined. She wants to be No.1 in the world, and whatever she can do to make that happen, she will."
Growing up, Vonn received a lot of support from her parents. They saw that she was a talented skier and moved the family from Minneapolis to Colorado, in order to give Lindsey access to more challenging downhill courses - 3,450 ft vertical drops vs. 310 feet available in Minneapolis.
Vonn's career has been filled with many inspiring moments. One such episode culminated in her winning the individual U.S. Olympic Spirit Award in the 2006 Torino Olympics. It all started when Vonn crashed during a downhill training run and had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital. She was uninjured, i.e. nothing broken, but was in extreme pain. While in the hospital, Lindsey was visited by Picabo Street and was told bluntly by Picabo that "a real champion would get up and race." Days later, Vonn heeded the tough love and raced, finishing 8th in the downhill. Working through her obvious pain, Vonn ended up finishing 7th in super-G and 14th in slalom. Lindsey didn't win a medal, but inspired many with her courage and determination and went home with the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award.
Lindsey - you are impressive and inspiring. Thank you for your great example. Stay strong. Cheers to the extraordinary!
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