Lindsey Vonn hurt her knee in a training crash Monday, delaying the start of her final season by at least one week, according to U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
Vonn, who hopes to win five races in her farewell campaign to break Ingemar Stenmark‘s World Cup victories record, will miss arguably her three best chances at wins at her favorite venue of Lake Louise, Alberta next week.
“The good news; I do NOT need surgery,” was posted on Vonn’s social media, one day after the super-G crash at Copper Mountain, Colo. “The bad news; I won’t be able to race in Lake Louise. LL has always been my favorite stop on the WC and I am devastated to not be coming this year.I am down but I am NOT out!”
Vonn, 34, said last month that she will retire after this season, whether or not she breaks Stenmark’s record. Now, the earliest race she could enter is a super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 8.
“If I get it [the record], that would be a dream come true,” Vonn said Oct. 11. “If I don’t, I think I’ve had an incredibly successful career no matter what. I’m still the all-time winningest female skier.”
Vonn thought this spring and summer about continuing on to 2019-20 if she doesn’t reach the record this season. In the end, her lengthy injury history made the decision for her.
“Physically, I’ve gotten to the point where it doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I really would like to be active when I’m older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what’s in front of me.
Last season, Vonn had five wins in 14 World Cup starts in speed events, with none of the victories coming in Lake Louise during another injury affected winter. There are 14 scheduled World Cup speed races this season after Lake Louise.
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VIDEO: Vonn, Gus Kenworthy battle on ‘Drop the Mic’
Yesterday I crashed training Super-G and hurt my knee. The good news; I do NOT need surgery. The bad news; I won’t be able to race in Lake Louise. LL has always been my favorite stop on the WC and I am devastated to not be coming this year.I am down but I am NOT out! #nevergiveup
— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) November 20, 2018