Vail’s Lindsey Vonn, a three-time World Cup overall champion and Olympic downhill gold medalist, reports regularly in collaboration with Denver Post ski writer John Meyer.
ARE, SWEDEN — I’m feeling really good with no concussion symptoms after taking a week off with no physical activity, just relaxing and trying to re-boot my system.
I trained slalom Monday and I felt really good. I had no problems, so I’m really optimistic about the races here this weekend.
I spent the off week at a wellness hotel in Austria, just relaxing. It was like a little mini-vacation for my husband and me. It was a weird feeling to have such a long break in the middle of the season, but I really needed it, and it really made a huge difference. My head is feeling really good.
The main reason I took the time off was for my head, of course, but now I feel rested and raring to go for the rest of the season. I never want to miss world championship races, but I think it’s going to give me a little bit of an advantage going into the closing stretch of the season. Everyone else is really tired from all the pressures of racing at the world championships. I hope I can ski well, like I was before my concussion.
I was really surprised by some of the reaction to my decisions regarding my concussion. It was ridiculous in many ways. On one side, I was getting attacked because people thought I was faking an injury and it was all just a show. On the other side I was being attacked for racing the world championships downhill when I shouldn’t have, that it was dangerous and I was setting a poor example for kids by competing with a head injury.
It was really frustrating, because it didn’t matter what I did, there was always someone saying something negative. I’m really happy with the decisions we made. My doctors, my husband and I made smart choices, we did the tests and passed them before I was allowed to get on skis. I listen to the advice of my doctor over the journalists. No one can say what I’m feeling except for me. It’s easy to play armchair quarterback.
With 12 races remaining in the World Cup season — six speed races, four technical races and two super combined races — I’m 156 points behind Maria Riesch in the overall chase. I know I have to seize every opportunity I have, but I’m optimistic. If I ski my best, I’m hopeful that I can defend my title.
