Having eclipsed every American female ski racer in virtually every category worth mentioning — and with the prospect of many more years on the World Cup tour — Lindsey Vonn is now pursuing the immortals of her sport.
Probably not halfway through her career as a racer at age 24, the Ski Club Vail product claimed her second consecutive World Cup overall title Wednesday with a downhill victory at the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden. She is the only American woman to win the overall more than once, and only four women in World Cup history have won more overall crowns.
Already she is tied for seventh on the all-time list for World Cup downhill wins (12). If she were to average three downhill wins per year the next eight years — not an unrealistic proposition, given her age and dominance in downhill — she would equal Annemarie Moser-Proell’s record (36).
“That’s the kind of thing I need to strive for now,” Vonn said. “I need to set my goals higher and try to get to those numbers, which is going to be hard. But if I keep going and keep skiing well, I think it’s possible.
“It’s something you can’t really focus on. You have to take it each day at a time and just try to win as many races as you can. Hopefully at the end of my career, I will be somewhere close to those numbers. But, yeah, I’m setting my goals a lot higher.”
Despite launching high in the air off a jump because she was carrying more speed than she expected, Vonn won Wednesday with a time of 1 minute, 42.49 seconds. Germany’s Maria Riesch was second and Austrian Renate Goetschl finished third.
There are American records still out there for Vonn to break. Phil Mahre won three World Cup overall titles (1981-83). Bode Miller holds the U.S. record for World Cup wins (31). Wednesday’s win was Vonn’s 21st.
“In two years, maybe I’ll be able to break that record,” Vonn said. “But I’m looking higher. If I stay healthy and I continue on this track, I really hope to be in the position of a Renate Goetschl (24 wins in downhill and 17 in super-G) or maybe get close to Moser-Proell.”
Vonn already has achieved superstar status in the European capitals of the sport.
“It’s been incredible,” Vonn said. “Last year I thought there were a lot of people who knew me and treated me like a rock star, but this year has been 10 times as much as last year. In Bansko (Bulgaria), I needed four security guards and my two Red Bull guys to get out of the finish, I was getting mobbed. I threw my flowers to the crowd, and it was a full-on brawl to see who got the flowers. It’s pretty incredible.”
Vonn claimed her second World Cup downhill title and can capture the super-G title today. No American woman has won multiple discipline titles in the same season.
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Vonn’s place
At age 24 and in her sixth season as a full-time World Cup racer, Lindsey Vonn may not even be halfway through her career. Having broken nearly every record for an American woman, she can begin looking at other goals:
Most World Cup overall titles
6 Annemarie Moser-Proell, Austria, (1971-75, 1979)
3 Janica Kostelic, Croatia, (2001, 2003, 2006)
3 Petra Kronberger, Austria, (1990-92)
3 Vreni Schneider, Switzerland, (1989, 1994, 1995)
2 Vonn and seven others
Most World Cup downhill wins
36 Annemarie Moser-Proell, Austria
24 Renate Goetschl, Austria
17 Michela Figini, Switzerland
16 Katja Seizinger, Germany
14 Maria Walliser, Switzerland
13 M.T. Nadig, Switzerland
12 Isolde Kostner, Italy
12 Lindsey Vonn, U.S.
