WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Lindsey Vonn’s bid for a second gold medal at the Winter Olympics fell short today when she hooked a tip with her right ski on a gate during the slalom and crashed. She entered her final run with a big lead.
Her crash took her out of medal contention in the super combined and handed the gold to her best friend on the ski tour — Germany’s Maria Riesch.
“My shin wasn’t the reason I didn’t finish the race today,” Vonn said. “It was just because I hooked a tip, and that happens in ski racing all the time. I just wish it wasn’t at the Olympic Games. That’s life.”
American Julia Mancuso earned her second silver medal of the Vancouver Games, after taking second Wednesay in the downhill.
Sweden’s Anja Paerson, who had a nasty crash in Wednesday’s downhill, took the bronze.
“I knew Maria (Riesch) had a great run, and I knew it was going to take a fighting, attacking run for me to beat that,” Vonn said. “I put it all out there.
Vonn also praised Mancuso.
“She’s just attacking,” Vonn said of her American teammate. “She has a lot of intensity, and I think her struggling in the past few years is maybe motivating her more. She’s coming in here as an underdog, no one is really expecting her to do anything, and I think that helps.
“I’m psyched for her. She’s doing an awesome job, and it’s great to see the American flag up there on the podium.”
Vonn had put herself in prime contention this morning, posting the fastest time in the downhill half of the event. But on the slalom course, as the second-to-last skier to run, Vonn clipped the gate and crashed. She got up and skied to the finish to congratulate Reisch.
Vonn has not been sharp this year in slalom. She was second in the season’s first World Cup slalom but has only one other top-10 this season. Racing slalom could be even more painful for her injured shin than downhill.
But in two World Cup super-combined races this season, Vonn was first and third.
