Lindsey Vonn considers immediate retirement as injuries take their toll

A golden career may have finished sooner than expected.

While Mikaela Shiffrin continued her march towards greatness with a super-G win in Cortina on Sunday – her 54th career World Cup win – Lindsey Vonn failed to finish the race and later told reporters that she may have competed in her last race.

Vonn, the greatest female skier in history with 82 career victories, needs five more wins on the World Cup circuit to beat Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86.

But that mark seems a long way off now for the American who made her competitive return this weekend after recovering from a knee injury.

At the conclusion of the weekend’s racing, Vonn said retirement was a “possibility” before quickly adding: “But I’m emotional right now.”

“I have to really think clearly about that. It’s not a decision I make lightly or quickly,” Vonn was quoted in a number of media outlets as saying, citing Associated Press.

“I really don’t know what to think at this point. Definitely isn’t the way I had hoped that things would go. I’ve been able to fight through a lot of injuries in my career but I think my injuries might get the best of me at this point.

“I’m going to give it a couple of days and make some decisions.”

READ: ‘I just can’t physically do it anymore’ – Vonn

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Updated 11:52 AM EST, Sun January 20, 2019

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Scorching down slopes at 80 mph — this is alpine skiing

00:54 - Source: CNN

The 34-year-old competed in Italy with braces on both knees and her best performance was ninth in Saturday’s downhill.

Following Sunday’s super-G, Vonn broke into tears after being presented with a bouquet of flowers by the Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia in the finish area.

She has achieved much on the Italian slopes, holding the record for 12 wins. It was also in Cortina she achieved her first podium and later broke the overall women’s World Cup record in 2015 with her 63rd win.

“It’s more emotional than I expected. You know that the end is coming but it doesn’t make it any easier,” Vonn said.

Speaking to CNN’s Alpine Edge last week, Vonn said she has become increasingly fearful of the onset of arthritis should she race on to try to become the most successful skier ever.

“I want to be able to walk without pain when I’m older and hopefully some day I’ll be able to ski with my kids and that’s important to me,” Vonn said while in Cortina.

The world's greatest female ski racer Lindsey Vonn has officially retired from the sport after her final race at the World Championships in Are. Here's a look back at her glittering career.

She made her Olympic debut at Salt Lake City 2002 as a 17-year-old, finishing 32nd in slalom and sixth in the combined slalom/downhill event.

Lindsey Kildow -- as she was then before marrying fellow skier Thomas Vonn -- won her first World Cup race with victory in the downhill at Lake Louise, Canada, in 2004.

In 2005, Vonn signed with Red Bull and began working with a completely new coaching team. She seemed set for the start of something special.

Any momentum from the new deal was slowed during the 2006 Olympics in Italy, though. A fall in practice resulted in a short stay in hospital. She recovered in time to compete but could only manage seventh in the Super G and eighth in the downhill events.

However, Vonn quickly bounced back and won the first of three straight World Cup titles in 2008 at the age of 23.

Golden girl Vonn achieved her Olympic dreams in 2010. She won the Olympic downhill gold at Whistler and added bronze in the super-G.

Vonn added a fourth World Cup title in 2012, but is still behind Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of six overall crystal globes.

Vonn's public profile went galactic when she dated star golfer Tiger Woods for two years between 2013 and 2015.

In 2013, Vonn suffered an horrific crash at the World Championships in Austria. She underwent reconstructive knee surgery and began a long road to recovery. She attempted to return a year later, only to pull out of the 2014 Olympics after aggravating the injury again.

Injuries continued to hamper Vonn. She fractured her left knee in February 2016 in a crash during a World Cup super-G race in Soldeu, Andorra, but raced the combined event the next day before calling an end to her season.

Vonn worked hard to get back in time to challenge for gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The American left PyeongChang with a bronze medal in the downhill but insisted she was proud to have made it through her injuries.

Vonn announced the current ski World Cup season would be her last. She is already the most successful woman in World Cup history with 82 victories and was chasing down Ingemar Stenmark's overall World Cup record of 86 victories in her sights.

However, a knee injury from a training crash in November meant she couldn't start her season until January. On her debut in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, she was still struggling with knee pain.

After much soul-searching Vonn announced that she will retire from skiing after competing in the World Championships in Are, Sweden in February 2019. "My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen," she said.

In her opening race at the World Championships, Vonn suffered a heavy crash and careered into safety netting. She was eventually able to ski to the bottom and said she would still compete in the downhill to bring the curtain down on her glittering career.

Despite her damaged knees, Vonn was able to retire on a positive note. She battled back to win bronze in the downhill -- becoming the oldest woman to secure a medal at a world championships and the first female racer to medal at six world championships.

The American retired four wins short of equaling Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup wins and the Swedish great (left) was in Are to watch Vonn's final race. "I basically begged him to come here," Vonn said.

Lindsey Vonn: Greatest female skier retires

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Shiffrin continues to dominate

Vonn also told Alpine Egde that she expected compatriot Shiffrin, who has won 11 times this season and is fourth on the women’s all-time list, to “break many records.”

Should Shiffrin continue her current dominance of women’s skiing, the 23-year-old will likely reach the top of the all-time list while still in her 20s. But the most immediate record on Shiffrin’s radar will be Vreni Schneiter’s for most wins in a season. The Swiss won 14 times in the 1988-89 season.

The American finished in 1:22.48 in Italy to secure her third super-G win of the season, while Lichtenstein’s Tina Weirather (+ 0.16) was second and Austria’s Tamara Tippler (+ 0.18) third.

Shiffrin celebrates a third super-G win of the season

Shiffrin enjoys a commanding lead in the overall standings, 496 points ahead of her nearest challenger, Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, and is on course for a third straight World Cup overall crown.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist will be the hot favorite to clinch a fourth straight slalom world title at the World Championships in Are, Sweden, next month.

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Hirscher beaten in Wengen

Noel celebrates victory in Wengen

READ: ‘Unbelievable,’ says Hirscher of his dominance

Elsewhere, Marcel Hirscher, the most dominant male skier of his generation, had to settle for third in the slalom in Wengen as France’s Clement Noel claimed his first World Cup win.

The 21-year-old Frenchman followed up last week’s second place in Adelboden with a sensational first in Switzerland on Sunday.

He was 0.47 seconds ahead of Austria’s Manuel Feller after the first run, with Hirscher off the pace, and did enough in the second run to secure victory by 0.08 seconds.

Austria’s Feller was second with Hirscher (+0.91) third, bringing an end to the Austrian’s run of three consecutive victories.

Downhill classic —

The Lauberhorn downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland marks the start of World Cup skiing's Classic season.

Eiger sanction —

The longest running race on the calendar takes place against the backdrop of the Eiger and its infamous north face (in shadow), scene of many feats of mountaineering heroism and tragedy.

Leg-jellying —

The downhill is the longest on the circuit at about 2.85 miles and takes about two-and-a-half minutes from the start hut on the Lauberhorn mountain back into Wengen.

The course plunges back to Wengen against the backdrop of the Eiger and the mighty Monch and Jungfrau mountains in the Bernese Oberland.

Picturesque panorama —

The race was first held in 1930 and regularly attracts about 35,000 fans to the spectacular venue.

One to win —

Along with skiing's blue riband Kitzbuhel downhill the following week, Wengen is one title all racers want on their resume.

Speed trap —

Wengen is the fastest course on the World Cup circuit with speeds of up to nearly 100 miles per hour. It is also about 30 seconds longer than the tough Kitzbuhel track.

Morning commute —

Racers travel up the mountain on a rack railway from Wengen. One-way tickets are all they need.

Alpine charm —

Car-free Wengen is a mix of timber-clad chalets and 19th century hotels perched on a shelf above the Lauterbrunnen valley.

Sky's the limit —

Fighter jets from the Swiss Air Force (the "Patrouille Suisse") traditionally fly display flights during the Lauberhorn race weekend.

All change —

The mountain railway from Wengen trundles up to the small hamlet of Kleine Scheidegg in the shadow of the Eiger's north wall, from where racers disembark to get a chairlift to the Lauberhorn start.

Top of the world —

Another cog railway travels up through the heart of the Eiger to the Jungfraujoch and its observatory at the head of the vast Aletsch glacier. The summit of the Jungfrau at 4,158 meters (13,641 feet) is in the distance.

Famous features —

Wengen is a lengthy mix of tight corners, fast straights, technical turns and big jumps with famous features such as the Hundschopf, Canadian Corner, Minschkante, Kernen-S, Austrian Hole and Haneggschuss.

Leap of faith —

The huge Hundschopf jump features a blind take off through a gap between rocks and a safety net.

Record breaker —

France's Johan Clarey set the fastest speed ever recorded on the World Cup of 161.9 kph (100mph) when conditions were slick in 2013.

100% effort —

Even two-time champion Beat Feuz of Switzerland feels the physical effects of the legendary Lauberhorn at the finish.

Winning feeling —

A downhill win at Wengen is a coveted crown among ski racers. Italy's Christof Innerhofer took the honors in 2013.

Wengen's classic downhill: Skiing's oldest, longest, fastest race

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Hirscher has won the last seven overall crowns – awarded to the skier with the most points across all six disciplines – to pass the record of five set by Luxembourg’s Marc Girardelli in 1993.

The double Olympic gold medalist from PyeongChang 2018 has also won five of the last six World Cup slalom titles and five of the last seven giant slalom season-ending crowns.