Skier Lindsey Vonn in serious crash
Four-time world cup winner to miss the rest of the season after crashing in Austria.
American Olympic gold medallist skier Lindsey Vonn crashed on 5 February during the first day of competition at the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Schladming.
Vonn fell after a jump, and crashed into a gate.
The race had been delayed for four hours due to fog, and by the time the event started, concerns were being raised about the light levels.
Two fellow competitors, Maria Hoefl-Riesch and Anna Fenninger, also made mistakes and pulled out of their runs, and Switzerland’s Fabienne Suter, who finished fifth, said: “It’s not a very difficult course but in some parts you couldn’t see anything.”
Vonn was treated on the Schladming course for 12 minutes before being airlifted to hospital and was later revealed to have ruptured cruciate ligaments in her right knee and broken a bone in her lower leg.
Lindsey Vonn is widely regarded as the strongest woman skier currently competing.
In 2012 she petitioned the International Ski Federation (FIS), asking to compete in a men’s downhill race in Canada. The FIS refused the request saying that “one gender is not entitled to participate in races of the other”.
The US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) was backing Vonn’s request.
USSA president and CEO Bill Marolt told the BBC : “We’re disappointed that the FIS Council did not support the proposal but also respect its direction.”
Alpine Canada, the organising body of Canadian skiing events, also backed Vonn’s petition.
President Max Gartner said in a statement: “Lindsey has achieved many milestones in ladies’ ski racing. It would have been interesting to see how she stacked up against the best male racers in the world.”
The request caused some controversy in the skiing world, with many views expressed on both sides.
One of Vonn’s greatest rivals, Maria Hoefl-Riesch, spoke out against the idea, insisting that it didn’t really make sense.
In an interview with the BBC, she said that she thought Vonn wanted to “use it as more training before the women’s race” due to take place six days later.
She went on to expand on her view by saying that mixed racing wasn’t “a good idea in any sport”.
Vonn was understandably dismayed by the reaction.
“There are some commentators who think that I would be far outside of the men,” she said.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I’d like the chance to compete against them and see where I stand. I’d definitely like to be inside the points. In the top 30.”
Vonn will undergo surgery for her injuries, after which she plans to return home to Colorado to recuperate.
In a statement she expressed her thanks for the messages of goodwill she has received.
She may be out for the season but she will be determined to defend her Olympic title at the 2014 Winter Games in the Russian city of Sochi.