US ski star Lindsey Vonn, among the most successful racers in history, is already focused on adding to her legacy at next year’s Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and beyond.
The 32-year-old, who has spent half her life on the World Cup circuit since debuting as a teen in 2000, says she has decided to ski through the 2018-2019 World Cup campaign to better focus next season’s effort on more Olympic gold next February in South Korea.
“I’m already planning for next season, how to stay healthy until February, always looking ahead to make the things better,” Vonn said. “My goal is to be healthy and confident come February.”
Vonn won the 2010 Vancouver Olympic downhill title and took bronze in the Super-G there but missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics with a right knee injury.
Vonn owns a career record 20 World Cup titles, including overall crowns in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012, plus eight World Cup downhill titles, five Super-G crowns and three more in the combined.
Her 77 career World Cup race triumphs are a women’s all-time record and she trails only Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark’s career mark of 86.
But that is not her focus in Olympic year.
“Next season, I’m really going to focus on the Olympics,” Vonn said. “I have decided to ski another year past the Olympics to focus on the World Cup record after that, so that I don’t have too much pressure on myself next season.”
Her only World Cup victory since February of last year came in January at Garmisch, Germany, when she defended her 2016 downhill crown.
But she was slowed this season after breaking her right arm in a crash during a training run. She did not start the season until January, finishing 13th at Altenmarkt before her win in Germany.
“I made the best of a bad situation,” she said. “Obviously I always expect a lot from myself and I have really high standards.
“I definitely didn’t meet this high standard. I had to be realistic with what I was working with.”
After winning eight of the past nine downhill crowns, she only managed fourth in her injury-shortened 2016-17 campaign.
“All things considered, it was a respectable season,” Vonn said. “I am coming out of it in on a peak.”
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