Lindsey and the Olympics
The World Cup overall title is “incredible,” two years in a row more so, but the Olympics are “very special,” Lindsey Vonn said Wednesday.
“I give my life for skiing and I want it so bad,” Vonn said in a conference call Wednesday with reporters after locking up the overall title with a downhill victory in Are, Sweden — her 46th World Cup podium, one more than Tamara McKinney, with 45.
“I hope these Olympics will be my time and I will be able to achieve my childhood dream.”
She also observed that Americans traditionally tune in to alpine skiing only at a Games. In Vancouver in 2010, she said, “I feel like this is my time to show America skiing and how extreme and cool skiing is.”
Extreme, of course, is the buzzword for that elusive teen and 20s demographic that Olympic organizers have furiously been seeking, Vonn acknowledging that alpine skiing is hardly snowboarding but “it still is extreme.”
Vonn is already well known in ski circles for, among other factors, her ferocious work ethic. This is a young woman who, now 24, reminded listeners Wednesday, “I didn’t go to prom,” concentrating instead on workouts. This coming summer, Vonn said, she intends to spend twice as along as usual enduring a schedule of intense workouts in Europe, six weeks instead of three.
“I am willing,” she said, “to sacrifice even more to take the next step.”