Lindsey Vonn Broke Down Discussing Her Bronze
Lindsey Vonn won bronze yesterday in the downhill alpine skiing race, but to her the medal shined bright as gold. After years of horrific injuries and tireless training, one of the most decorated athletes in her sport found her way once again to the medal stand in an emotional moment laid bare for the cameras.
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When she took to the podium alongside Italian Sofia Goggia (gold) and Norwegian Ragnhild Mowinckel (silver), she pointed at the sky in a clear tribute to her late grandfather, whose initial she wore on her helmet.
Don Kildow, a Korean war veteran, had hoped to attend the games but passed away on November 1 at the age of 88. According to TIME, he built Vonn her first ski hill.
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"I wanted to win so much because of him," the Olympian said. "But I still think I made him proud. Our family never gives up and I never gave up."
The victory capped off an Olympic career highlighted with a gold and bronze medal in 2006 at the Vancouver Winter Games. Even then, Vonn still made her mark despite a devastating training crash just a week before. The bumps, bruises, and broken fingers paled in comparison to the 2013 accidents that sidelined her from Sochi. After tearing ligaments in her right knee and fracturing her tibia at the World Championships, she reinjured the same joint and partially tore her ACL right before the 2014 Olympics.
The grueling sport - where the best racers top 80 and even 95 miles per hour - continued to wreak havoc on her body when she severely fractured her humerus at the end of 2016. The ensuing surgery left her with 20 screws and a foot-long metal plate in her arm.
"I have a different understanding for life now,'' she told Sports Illustrated. "I have such a different perspective than I did eight years ago. I've been in the fences so many times. I know so many doctors on a first-name basis that it's ridiculous. It's taken its toll. But the injuries have made me stronger. The Olympic gold medal in Vancouver set the course for my career and I don't think it means any more or any less than this medal now.''
The athlete still has the combined race left on her schedule, but she's not favored to win gold. This race - likely the last Olympic medal of her career - served as the sweet reward for years of struggle.
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"I'm 33,'' she told Sports Illustrated. "In ski racing I'm over the hill. I wish this wasn't my last Olympics, but it is. I'd like to have a little less pain, but otherwise I wouldn't change it.''
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