HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria — Nothing like a “stupid” comment about her weight to make Lindsey Vonn ski faster.
The Vail resident won her third consecutive World Cup downhill Friday and regained the lead in the overall standings from Maria Riesch of Germany.
Austrian media this week reported that Vonn, the reigning downhill and overall champion, would have an advantage in speed events because she was carrying additional weight.
“Anytime people say stupid things in the media, it always makes me more motivated to try to ski faster,” Vonn said. “It’s obvious that I am an athlete and not an overweight person, so I thought it was pretty ridiculous. It just added fuel to the fire.”
Vonn raced down the Krummholz course in 1 minute, 38.84 seconds to beat Anja Paerson of Sweden by 0.35 seconds. Riesch, who led Vonn by five points in the overall standings entering the race, took third, 0.39 behind Vonn.
“I really attacked today,” said Vonn, who is skiing with a bruised left arm after a crash in Lienz, Austria, last month. “It’s a great feeling.”
Vonn leads with 694 points and Riesch has 659. Austria’s Kathrin Zettel is third at 569 but doesn’t ski downhills.
Footnotes.
Two-time overall World Cup champion Bode Miller will try to earn a spot in the Olympic giant slalom when he returns to racing today in Adelboden, Switzerland, after a three-week break to nurture an ankle injury.
• Former World Cup slalom champion Giorgio Rocca of Italy pulled a muscle in training and might miss the Vancouver Olympics.
