SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM – Large jumps. Numerous terrain. Steep pitches.
The downhill course on the Alpine snowboarding world championships would have been a problem for Lindsey Vonn’s aching legs earlier than she retired in 2019.
Now that she’s changed a part of her proper knee with titanium? No downside.
“That is most likely the worst hill for somebody with unhealthy knees, however I felt nice,” Vonn mentioned after inserting twentieth within the opening coaching session Tuesday. “Not one of the landings harm in any respect.”
Vonn returned to the snowboarding circuit in December on the age of 40 and she or he wasn’t initially planning on racing on the worlds. However she’s made a lot progress that she’s going to enter the super-G on Thursday, the downhill on Saturday and the crew mixed occasion subsequent week.
So what did the American standout make of her coaching efficiency?
“I used to be simply taking it straightforward,” she mentioned. “I assumed it was a extremely enjoyable course, truly. Jogs my memory of after I was studying how one can ski downhill at Vail. We had a number of terrain that we constructed like this, so it’s enjoyable.”
Lara Intestine-Behrami, Breezy Johnson and Federica Brignone positioned 1-2-3 within the coaching session.
There are two extra coaching classes earlier than Saturday’s downhill race.
“I actually put zero weight into coaching runs as a result of I’m testing issues,” she mentioned. “I’ve my jacket on. I’ve all my pads on. I’m attempting completely different boots and within the coaching runs I’ve by no means accomplished that earlier than.”
Vonn instructed The Related Press in a latest interview that the principle objective of her comeback is to compete at subsequent season’s Milan-Cortina Olympics — after which she’ll head again into retirement.
“This season,” Vonn mentioned, “is all about determining what it’s going to take to achieve success subsequent yr.”
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AP snowboarding: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
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