In 2009 at Lake Louise, American Lindsey Vonn’s downhill run was nearly ruined when she struck a large bump that forced her knee into her chin, leaving her bloodied at the bottom of the run.
She still won the race.
In 2010, Vonn carved a tight turn much too close on the critical Fall Away turn, then skidded across the course on her thigh before remarkably returning to an upright position.
She won. Again.
This year, Vonn skied a near flawless run, accumulating more speed in each crucial section of the course – Coaches Corner, Fall Away, Gun Barrel – reaching speeds in excess of 120 km/h.
She won. Again. By a lot.
Vonn finished 2.06 ahead of the rest of the pack – an incredible gap in alpine skiing terms – to claim her ninth victory at Lake Louise and the 44th of her career.
“I couldn’t believe it. My goal was just to ski aggressively through the wind and tough light conditions. I could feel the wind heavily when I was skiing, so to win by almost two seconds is just amazing.”
While most skiers struggled with high winds, slowing down their times at the bottom of the hill, Vonn appeared to defy the laws of nature, gaining speed where others could not.
Liechtenstein’s Tina Weirather, the daughter of famous ski racers, was the closest competitor. The young skier, who burst onto the World Cup scene at the age of 15, couldn’t catch Vonn on Friday. Dominique Gisin of Switzerland, who recorded her second podium finish at Louise, finished third. Vonn’s chief rival, former winner at Lake Louise Maria Riesch-Hoefl, finished ninth.
“There was a pretty big headwind coming onto the Fall Away turn, but I knew that Heinz (Hemmerle), my technician, had done some magic with my skis to help me on the flats and it all came together,” Vonn said.
On a day where Vonn cemented her reputation as the queen of Lake Louise, a Canmore ski racer made her own debut.
Competing in her first-ever World Cup race, Canmore’s Tess Davies finished 54th in difficult conditions. Given the final starting position of the day, Davies laid down a gutsy run to finish as the top Canadian on the day. Davies crashed twice in training, but was thrilled to finish her run.
“It’s nice to make it down. I could have been in my tuck a lot more and been a lot faster, but I’m still happy about it,” Davies said. “I have a World Cup finish now which not a lot of people can say. It’s a pretty cool accomplishment. I can’t be unhappy about today.”
