CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn said she is “good” and has only a few bruises after falling toward the end of a World Cup downhill training run on Thursday.
The protective air bag that most downhill skiers wear inflated under Vonn's racing suit to help soften her fall. Vonn got back up and skied to the finish area on the Olympia delle Tofane course but then went inside a tent for treatment. She did not break any bones, her team said.
“I’m good," Vonn told The Associated Press during an interview later in the day at the U.S. team hotel. "I just caught a lot of air off the second-to-last jump and I just landed and my ski kind of caught funny.
“My bum is sore but otherwise I’m good,” she added, indicating that she still plans to race this weekend.
The 40-year-old Vonn recently returned to ski racing after nearly six years of retirement, with a titanium knee replacement.
So how did her right knee — the one with the titanium — feel after the fall?
“No problem. Titanium doesn’t break,” Vonn said. “All in all, my titanium knee is holding up a lot better than I think anyone would have expected.”
Last Sunday, Vonn finished fourth in a super-G in St. Anton, Austria.
Vonn holds the record of 12 wins in Cortina, the stage for next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.
“Everything’s getting faster and better, and I’m dialing everything in one day at a time, so hopefully I can get on the podium this weekend,” Vonn said.
Another downhill training session is scheduled for Friday before downhill and super-G races Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Vonn has been hurrying to figure out her new equipment during her comeback and she broke one of her boots during her fall.
“So I don’t know if I have to go on a new boot tomorrow. I have to figure that out," she said.
Italians Federica Brignone, Sofia Goggia and Nadia Delago finished 1-2-3 in the training session.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
