At 41, Lindsey Vonn is no longer defying expectations so much as resetting them. A day after it became oldest woman to win a World Cup raceThe American missed the repeat by a quarter of a second, finishing second in Saturday's downhill in St Moritz behind Germany's Emma Eicher.
Less than 24 hours after rewriting the World Cup age record, Vonn briefly considered setting course for another victory, beating Italy's Sofia Goggia on the sunlit Corviglia circuit. But Eicher, just behind her, attacked the increasingly rutted track to beat Vonn by 0.24 seconds, denying her a rare opening weekend double.
Goja, tea 2018 Olympic champion in downhillfinished third, 0.29 seconds behind Eicher, while American world champion Breezy Johnson finished fourth, 0.40 seconds back.
The difference for Vonn came at the halfway point, where she landed awkwardly after a jump and was forced to make an abrupt adjustment after losing her balance. The error disrupted her rhythm and speed in the lower section where she had dominated the day before.
“I was skiing pretty well, but I lost my balance a little today,” Vonn said. “Yesterday was so emotional that it took a lot of energy and I didn't sleep well. I know I can do better.”
Regardless, the result reinforced the scope of Vonn's renaissance. since returning to the World Cup last season after nearly six years away from the sport and a partial knee replacement that left her racing with titanium implants in her right leg. She again produced some of the fastest speeds in the field and remains at the top of the downhill standings after two races.
For Eicher, the victory was her third World Cup win and second in downhill, further establishing the 22-year-old as one of the tour's most versatile skiers. This season she has already climbed to the podium in slalom, confirming her achievements in the all-around.
The weekend in San Moritz will conclude with Sunday's super-G match, where Vonn is expected to line up with teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, who has surpassed her. as the most successful women's World Cup skier of all time in 2023. With the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics approaching, Vonn's back-to-back podium finishes quickly turned her comeback from curiosity into real medal contention.
