Lindsey Vonn Wins Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill in St. Moritz

Raúl Revuelta
17 hours ago
2 min read

Lindsey Vonn made a perfect start in the Alpine Ski World Cup speed season on the Corviglia racecourse in St. Moritz. She celebrated a dominant Downhill victory, leaving her competitors almost a second behind. The 41-year-old US skier finished 0.98 seconds ahead of Austria's Magdalena Egger, who, starting with bib number 27, surprisingly made it onto the podium for the first time. Mirjam Puchner finished third, 1.16 seconds behind. Vonn had only won the downhill event in St. Moritz once before, in January 2012.

Lindsey Vonn celebrated her 83rd Alpine Ski World Cup victory and her 44th in the Downhill. She celebrated her last World Cup victory before her retirement on March 14, 2018, in the downhill in Åre. At 41, Vonn is also now the oldest World Cup winner, surpassing Italy's Federica Brignone, who was 34 years and eight months old when she won the Super-G in La Thuile in March. Didier Cuche holds the Men's record at 37 years and 6 months.

"It all happened so fast, I’m so happy. Finally, everything is right with the equipment, and I can ski the way I want. My body is also no longer giving me any problems. I'm finally free in my mind. That makes me very, very happy. The win means so much to me. I knew in the summer that I was on the right path, and all the hard work has paid off. All the people who didn’t believe in me, I have to thank them, because it gives me a lot of motivation. I’m surprised people haven’t figured that out by now. Every time they talk badly about me, it makes me stronger, better, and more motivated. So I’d love for people to keep coming at me," Vonn said.

In her 31st World Cup race, 24-year-old Magdalena Egger, starting with bib number 27, skied the race of her life, shattering her previous career best result of 18th place in the Downhill in Kvitfjell in March.

"It’s unbelievable, I don’t even know what to say. I really enjoyed skiing this run. I skied the course the way I planned to ski it. It's great that I can trust my skiing and the equipment. It’s fantastic that the race went so well for me," Egger said.

Mirjam Puchner claimed her ninth World Cup podium today. The 33-year-old Austrian skier won the silver medal in the downhill event in Saalbach, following disappointing results in last season's World Cup. Her best result last season was tenth place in the downhill event in Cortina.

"I tried to believe in myself. After yesterday’s training, it was not bad. Today the sun was shining, I knew I could ski everything, and I had to trust in myself. I was really fast on the upper part, I felt it because the jumps were so far, not like yesterday. I tried to push, it was OK, but I think there is much to improve on tomorrow. It’s good to start the season well, because you don’t think too much and you can keep going," Puchner said.