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She doesn’t have any storybook names, like Picabo or Sasha. And she says that, unlike Bode Miller, if she makes the 2010 Winter Olympics she’ll be asleep by 9.
But get used to hearing Lindsey Vonn’s name. When the lights go up in February at the Vancouver Winter Games and the downhill ski gates swing open, Vonn will burst right into the NBC spotlight.She’s a world champion, twice over. And a two-time Olympian with a dramatic and bitter memory to erase.Born in St. Paul, Minn., Vonn turned 25 last week. As a teenager she made her first World Cup appearance at the age of 16.By 17, she was an Olympian, skiing in the slalom and combined events at the Salt Lake City Games. As Lindsey Kildow — she married fellow U.S. Ski team member Thomas Vonn in 2007 — she was considered a solid medal contender in three events going into the 2006 Turin Olympics. But on a training run two days before the women’s downhill, Vonn flew off the course at 50 mph and crashed spectacularly. She was taken to a Turin hospital by helicopter, where X-rays showed no fractures but a severely bruised hip. Vonn somehow came back and completed the downhill two days later, finishing eighth.She doesn’t see her 2006 Olympic experience as a nightmare, but a lesson learned."As disappointing as the Torino Olympics were, I think it was a really good lesson for me," Vonn said at last month’s U.S. Olympic Media Summit. "I learned a lot about myself. "I realized how important skiing was for me and my life. I realized I don’t want to go out on the hill and get to the finish and say, 'Oh, I could’ve done better.’ "If there are any scary remnants from the crash, Vonn hasn’t shown them. Last season she became the first U.S. woman to win back-to-back World Cup overall championships. She also won World Cup titles in the downhill and Super-G."What happened in Torino has definitely given me more motivation," Vonn said. "The success I’ve had, I think, is a testament to my work ethic and my determination.""I’ve been working really, really, really hard since the last Olympics."As the NBC telecasts are expected to remind viewers, Vonn will go to Vancouver as the most successful female skier in U.S. history. Picabo Street won a gold medal in Nagano, but won only nine times on the World Cup circuit. Vonn’s 22 World Cup titles eclipse the previous best by a U.S. woman, 18 by Tamara McKinney.
2010 Vancouver Games Feb. 12-28Women’s Alpine skiing schedule: Feb. 14, 17, 20, 21, 26Online:www.vancouver2010.com
Gil LeBreton, 817-390-7760
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