CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn’s bib number could be a good omen.
Vonn will start 13th in the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday, Feb. 8. The only other time she’s drawn that number this season – for the super-G in Val d’Isere, France – she finished third. It was the first of her two super-G podiums this season.
Breezy Johnson, who had the fastest time in training Saturday, Feb. 7, is the first American to start, at No. 6. Jackie Wiles, who had the fastest time in training Friday, Feb. 6, goes 17th. Bella Wright is the last of the four Americans in the 36-skier field, at No. 24.
Vonn was expected to be a favorite to win her second Olympic downhill title, having been on the podium in every World Cup race in the discipline this season. But a crash eight days ago left her with a torn ACL in her left knee, bone bruising and meniscus damage.
Determined to ski in her fifth and final Olympics, Vonn has been doing intensive physical therapy, pool workouts and weightlifting sessions. She completed both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second one, before it was canceled because of snow and heavy fog.
‘I will stand in the starting gate tomorrow and know I am strong. Know that I believe in myself. Know that the odds are stacked against me with my age, no ACL and a titanium knee — but know that I still believe,’ Vonn wrote on Instagram. ‘And usually, when the odds are stacked against me the most, I pull the best of what’s inside me out.
‘I will race tomorrow in my final Olympic Downhill and while I can’t guarantee a good result, I can guarantee I will give it everything I have,’ she said. ‘But no matter what happens, I have already won.’