Lindsey Vonn is officially retiring from skiing
Lindsey Vonn is hanging up her skis for good this time.
After a fourth Olympic Games and more than a decade on the U.S. ski team, Vonn called it quits last year amid ongoing knee injuries. She then reversed in November, saying she'd come back for at least one more race in the 2019 season. Now, with "my body ... screaming at me to STOP," Vonn wrote on Instagram on Friday that it was "time for me to listen." She'll race one last time next week, in the Super-G and downhill events at the Alpine Ski World Championships in Åre, Sweden.
View this post on InstagramIt’s been an emotional 2 weeks making the hardest decision of my life, but I have accepted that I cannot continue ski racing. I will compete at the World Championships in Downhill and SG next week in Åre, Sweden and they will be the final races of my career.A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn) on Feb 1, 2019 at 7:22am PST
With 82 World Cup golds, Vonn is winningest female ski racer of all time, and she needed just five more wins to remove "female" from that distinction. But when repeated knee injuries started to take a toll on her performance, Vonn announced in October she'd cap her career at the end of the 2018-19 season. She suffered a training injury in November, yet still scrapped her retirement plans and said she'd come back to race at Canada's Lake Louise this year.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But after a shaky, painful performance in Italy earlier this month, it seems Vonn reconsidered. She won't get to take on her favorite course at Lake Louise, but she'll leave an unmatched legacy behind.
