Vonn to Join Speed Team in Chile

VAIL, CO (Aug. 28) - Olympic gold medalist and four-time Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) will join the Best in the World women's speed team for their annual on-snow camp in Portillo, Chile next month. Vonn, who demonstrated the strength of her surgically repaired right knee for journalists Wednesday at Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, said she feels her right knee is almost as healthy as the left. She hasn't skied since a Feb. 5 season ending crash at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria. Despite the knockout blow, Vonn still won a record sixth consecutive Audi FIS Alpine World Cup downhill title and contributed to a historic speed season for American women where all six athletes posted World Cup top three finishes. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) will join the Best in the World women's speed team next month during their annual Sept. on snow camp in Portillo, Chile.
• Vonn has not skied since a Feb. 5 crash at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships that resulted in a torn ACL/MCL and fractured tibial plateau.
• The return to snow camp for Vonn will begin with basic drills, but the Olympic gold medalist hopes to slowly work to running gates.
• The two-week camp also features Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA), Leanne Smith (N. Conway, NH) and Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR).
• Notably absent is St. Anton downhill winner Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO), who suffered a similar injury to Vonn in early March. McKennis is expected to return to snow in the fall.
• Last season all six athletes posted Audi FIS Alpine World Cup top three finishes and combined to win the nations standings for downhill by a staggering 457 point margin.
• While Vonn is not expected to compete, the World Cup season opens Oct. 26 with a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria - the team's Official European Training Base.
• The four-time overall World Cup champion hopes to be strong enough to begin her season at the Nov. 29-Dec. 1 swing through Beaver Creek, CO, home of the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.