World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn, a product of Ski Club Vail, reports regularly from the tour in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
TARVISIO, Italy — My win in Sunday’s super-G was the 19th of my career on the World Cup tour, breaking Tamara McKinney’s record for American women. It’s amazing for me to ponder that.
I honestly never thought it would be possible to beat Tamara’s record, because it has been there for 20 years and she was such an amazing ski racer, such a legend. I still can’t believe I broke her record.
I’m incredibly excited to have this record. It’s something that will stay with me my whole life. I can’t even put into words how happy I am and how good it makes me feel.
People may wonder how hungry I will be, having this record and my two world championships gold medals at the age of 24. I’ve never struggled with motivation. I’ve always found new goals. I just keep going out there trying to ski my best every day and trying to win as many races as I can.
And there’s no trouble setting new goals. The achievements of the greatest racers in the sport, such as Austria’s Renate Goetschl — 46 World Cup wins — are very humbling. I’m really excited about breaking Tamara’s record, but I know there’s a lot more in me. I’m going to keep working hard and trying to win as many races as I can until my body doesn’t hold up anymore.
I’m still improving. Each year I’m much stronger physically and more coordinated. We constantly work on my agility, and it keeps getting better. The harder I work, the better it gets. I definitely feel like, physically, there’s a lot more potential in me, and if I keep working hard, things could get even better.
I’m going to work harder than ever this summer to prepare for the Olympics. Plus, there’s always giant slalom, the one event in which I’ve never had a podium. My GS has gone a lot better for me this season — I did finish fourth in one race — but there’s still a ways to go. I’m still hoping to get a GS podium before this season ends. But it’s definitely a motivation for me, to get my GS as good as the other four disciplines.
