BEAVER CREEK – Two races, one medal for Lindsey Vonn. Not gold, either, but bronze.
This wasn’t exactly the start the skier from nearby Vail was hoping for at the world championships in front of a home crowd.
But there still are events left for Vonn. She announced after her fifth-place finish in the downhill Friday that she was going to compete in the giant slalom and the Alpine combined, an even that combines the times one run of downhill and one of slalom. Never mind she hasn’t been in a slalom race in years, she’s going to give it a go.
Nothing to lose.
“Although my chances of doing something there are slim, I will definitely be giving 110 percent effort,” the 30-year-old Vonn said. “Hopefully, make a miracle happen.”
So far, these worlds have been dominated by Slovenia’s Tina Maze and Austria’s Anna Fenninger. Maze won the downhill race by 0.02 seconds over Fenninger.
Three days earlier in the super-G, Fenninger held off Maze by 0.03 seconds.
“We are sharing our wins and good races,” Fenninger said. “That’s why we are good friends.”
Maze has a chance to medal in every event at worlds. Should she do that, she will join some elite company.
At the 1999 worlds in Beaver Creek, Lasse Kjus of Norway captured five medals (two golds, three silvers). It’s a lot of skiing, and not many skiers attempt this sort of feat.
“I know I can do this. I knew that before I came here,” Maze said. “Of course, it’s in my mind, but thinking about it makes no sense. You have to go day by day, from discipline to discipline. I know I can get it.”
Especially with Fenninger pushing her.
“I was at the start, watching Anna skiing down. I knew she would be the one to beat,” Maze said. “I saw her having really good run. If I come down (in first), it’s a good sign. I don’t know what Lindsey has, because (Thursday) she didn’t have a good training.”
It spilled over. She was off to a fast start up top, much to the delight of the capacity crowd. But she faded in the curvy middle section and wound up fifth.
“Honestly, I did the best I could,” said Vonn, who won a bronze in the super-G, the only medal the Americans have through three races. “I fought the whole way down. I was so focused. I visualized the course a thousand times. It just wasn’t a great run. It was a good run, but not a top-five worthy run. There’s not a lot to be sad about.”
