Lindsey Vonn crashes in penultimate race as Mikaela Shiffrin wins world title

It was supposed to be a happy farewell, but Lindsey Vonn crashed in her opening race at skiing’s World Championships as compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin triumphed in Sweden.

The 34-year-old Vonn flew off a jump and careered into netting in Tuesday’s super-G, the penultimate race of her glittering career after announcing her retirement last week because of the toll the sport has taken on her “broken” body.

After race officials and medics rushed to her aid, Vonn eventually got back up and skied tentatively down the course in Are.

She was greeted with a rousing ovation in the finish area and waved to the large crowd as she took off her skis.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by an 18-wheeler,” Vonn told a later news conference. “I got the wind knocked out of me but it’s OK. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Vonn said she still intends to compete in Sunday’s World Championships downhill before hanging up her race skis.

The American has won 82 World Cup races, second on the all-time list behind Ingemar Stenmark (86), and is the most successful women’s ski racer of all time.

“I’m just trying to accept the position I’m in and move forward with it,” she said, referring to her enforced retirement. “The last two races probably won’t be my farewell season I wanted – being able to break Stenmark’s record.

“I’m hoping Sunday will be a much better day.”

Lindsey Vonn hit a course marker and flew into safety netting in Tuesday's super-G.

Vonn eventually picked herself up and skied slowly to the bottom of the course in Are, Sweden.

‘Mentally tougher’

Shiffrin, who started immediately before Vonn in bib number 15, took the lead with a host of racers still to come, including Olympic super-G champion Ester Ledecka.

But the 23-year-old held on to beat Italy’s Olympic downhill champion Sofia Goggia by 0.02 seconds with Swiss Corinne Suter 0.05 secs back.

“It was a really tight race, the differences were like nothing,” Shiffrin told reporters. “It was a fight. It’s tough, all these girls deserved to win.”

Slalom specialist Shiffrin is bidding for a fourth straight slalom world title in Are. The Olympic giant slalom champion is not planning to race in the downhill but will contest the slalom, giant slalom and possibly combined event in Are.

Visit CNN.com/Sport for more news, features and videos

Shiffrin has been the standout women’s skier this season with 13 wins on the World Cup circuit to climb to 56 victories overall, making her the fifth most successful ski racer of all time.

“She’s mentally tougher than anyone else, she trains more … she does everything well and you’re seeing the results,” American ski great Bode Miller told Eurosport, referring to runaway World Cup standings leader Shiffrin.

Ledecka, who also won snowboarding gold in Pyeongchang, was more than two seconds off the pace after a disappointing run.

READ: Shiffrin shines again to score 13th win of remarkable season

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin is arguably the most dominant athlete in sport right now. The 24-year-old has taken skiing by storm, winning 17 World Cup races across four of the six disciplines last season to take her overall tally to 60 victories. Here's a look back at her short but sweet career so far.

2011 —

Shiffrin grew up skiing from an early age thanks to parents who were both competitive college skiers. She rose quickly through the junior ranks and joined the World Cup circuit two days before her 16th birthday in 2011.

2011 —

The American (right) secured her first World Cup medal in December 2011, winning a bronze in the slalom. Her potential didn't go unnoticed as she was named rookie of the year.

2012 —

Shiffrin lived up to her hype during the following season, winning her first World Cup slalom event in Lienz, Austria.

2013 —

The youngster continued her good form, winning a further three World Cup slalom races that season. She also struck slalom gold at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria.

2013 —

She ended a remarkable season with a first World Cup slalom crown, which she defended the following year.

2014 —

As world champion, the pressure was on the 18-year-old to perform at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. She didn't disappoint. Shiffrin became the youngest ever Olympic slalom champion and the first American to win the title in 42 years.

2015 —

Following her Olympic success, the American won her third straight World Cup slalom crown in 2015. She also defended her slalom title at the 2015 World Championships.

2016 —

A knee injury stalled her career the following season and she had to settle for fourth in the slalom standings.

2017 —

Shiffrin was back to her best in 2017, though, winning a fifth slalom World Cup title and adding a third World Championship gold. She also won her first overall World Cup title.

2018 —

As her reputation grew, so did her popularity and all eyes were on Shiffrin to perform at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She was affected by the weather-hit schedule and despite winning gold in the giant slalom and silver in the combined she missed out completely in slalom. But she won the World Cup overall and slalom titles again at the end of the season to confirm her status as America's new superstar.

Shiffrin has been on fire during the 2018-19 season and has made waves beyond ski racing for her level of consistency and domination. She has climbed to fifth on the list off all-time most successful ski racers, and third woman behind Lindsey Vonn and Annemarie Moser-Proll.

At the 2019 FIS World Championships in Are, Sweden she struck in the opening super-G race to score her fourth world title.

And she clinched a remarkable fourth straight slalom world title -- a streak stretching back to 2013 -- to go with a bronze in the giant slalom in Sweden.

Following the World Championships, Shiffrin won a World Cup slalom event in Stockholm to score a record-equaling 14th title of the season. She also wrapped up a third straight season slalom crown and sixth in seven years. She clinched a third straight overall crown when racing was canceled in Sochi.

Soon after she pushed the record to 15 wins - unprecedented for men or women -- with a slalom victory (her 58th) in the Czech Republic.

At the World Cup finals in Soldeu, Andorra in March, Shiffrin wrapped up a third Crystal Globe of 2019 with a first season title in the super-G.

Mikaela Shiffrin: The most dominant sportswoman on the planet?

Prev Next

‘My body is broken beyond repair’

Vonn won super-G and downhill world titles in 2009 and clinched Olympic downhill gold as well as super-G bronze in 2010.

A serious knee injury prevented her defending her title in Sochi in 2014, but she fought back from a host of other injuries to earn downhill bronze in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

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

Prev Next

Vonn said in October that this season would be her last but a knee injury in a training crash at Copper Mountain, Colorado in November put back her season debut until January. She struggled with knee pain in two races in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy and after much soul-searching she announced Friday she would retire after the World Championships.

She added in Are: “I was pretty clear after Cortina my body is not going to continue doing what I wanted it to do. I didn’t want to end in Cortina, I thought that was not the way to go out.

“I wanted to say goodbye to everybody. It’s been really nice to get all the messages from my fellow competitors and coaches and all my friends that have supported me for so many years. It’s been really heart warming for me and makes the process of retiring a little bit easier, maybe.”

Vonn said she could possibly carry on if she only needed one more win to beat Stenmark’s record, but insists continuing in search of five wins is “not worth ruining my body for.”

“To consistently train and race, my knees are just not able to handle it,” she told Eurosport.

“My right knee because of the cartilage I had taken out in the spring, and then my left knee I have no LCL (lateral collateral ligament) and I’m wearing two braces.

READ: How Special Forces training is speeding up US downhillers

“I can’t train, I can barely do anything on the mountain. So it’s a tough decision to be in. But I’m thinking I’m making a smart decision for my future.”