Vonn Within One of Career 50th Win
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Jan. 28) - Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) torched the St. Moritz speed track for a 1.42 second margin of victory and her career 49th Audi FIS Alpine World Cup win. It was Vonn's eighth win of the season, second in two days, and extended her World Cup overall lead to 352 points over Slovenia's Tina Maze. Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) was fifth and Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) seventh as three Americans crowded the top 10.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Lindsey Vonn captured a massive 1.42 second margin of victory in the St. Moritz downhill
- It was the 49th World Cup victory of Vonn's career (24th in downhill) and second in two days
- The win ties Vonn with Austrian Renate Goetschl for second on all-time DH wins list
- It was Vonn's first victory in the St. Moritz downhill and her eighth win this season
- Vonn is 352 points ahead of Slovenia's Tina Maze in the overall standings
- She also leads the downhill, super G and super combined standings
- Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) was 5th and Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) 7th
- It was Smith's career best World Cup finish and moved her inside the DH top 20 standings
- Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) was 16th and Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO) 25th
- U.S. women lead Austria in the nation's standings for downhill by 344 points
- Vonn will have a chance to sweep the weekend Sunday with a second super combined in St. Moritz
QUOTES
Lindsey Vonn
I've struggled in St. Moritz in the past and for some reason have always made major mistakes and have never won a downhill here. Today I just tried to stay really relaxed. I knew where I had to execute the line and I think I did that.
I feel like 50 is a pretty substantial landmark in my career. I'm trying to keep my focus on the race tomorrow. It's going to be a tough super combined because Tina Maze is extremely fast in super G and also in slalom. I have to execute and hopefully if I can do that then number 50 will come. It means a lot to me, so I'm trying not to think about it.
It feels pretty special to tie Renate [Goetschl] for downhill wins, but [Annemarie] Moser-Proell still has a lot more than I do, so I have a long ways to go. She pretty much dominated so I have my work cut out for me.
Leanne [Smith] is skiing extremely well and I'm really happy for her and for Julia [Mancuso] and Laurenne [Ross], everyone is skiing really well. As a team, we're on a roll and it's fun to see all the girls so excited and skiing so well. Every day all of the girls on this team have a chance to be on the podium.
Leanne Smith
It felt good to execute the line and the turns that I wanted to ski. I needed a downhill result and now I'm really looking forward to next weekend. Hopefully I can continue this little streak that I'm on.
The feeling on the front of the boot is something that I've been establishing. To be able to push on the front of the ski early, you feel way more stable and you can hold positions and be strong in the core. If you can't tighten the line up in places where you're not in a good position then you can't hold and you can't generate speed.
I'm at a good spot right now and I just want to keep learning and figuring out where I can be faster. It's not just understanding this course, it's understanding how to be better on the turns and how to make up time by getting more out of the gates up ahead of you.
TV
Universal Sports will air the women's downhill at 11 a.m. ET
OFFICIAL RESULTS
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&raceid=66719
