Lindsey Vonn said she will retire on her own terms, and not those of anyone else.
Recovering from a horrific crash that nearly led to the amputation of her left leg, the 41-year-old Vonn wasn’t in the mood for retirement talk during a recent exchange on social media.
That chatter has grown in volume given her age, her resume and, unfortunately, her injuries.
Vonn has undergone five surgeries since suffering a complex left tibia fracture after clipping a gate and sailing off course 13 seconds into her Feb. 8 run in the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Despite it all, Vonn remains determined in her quest to continue to ski.
“Who said I was retiring?” she wrote during the social media exchange.
One fan responded with the following: “The ego is so strong with this one. Take your medicine Lindsey. You nearly lost your leg. Put your feet up and be done.”
That apparently didn’t sit well with Vonn.
“[I] think you’re mistaking my ego for joy,” she wrote. “I’ve said it my whole life; I love skiing. I’ll put my feet up when I’m good and ready thank you.”
Vonn’s comments likely aren’t music to the ears of her father Alan Kildow, who last month publicly called for her to hang up her skis.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Kildow told the Associated Press in February. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Coming out of retirement with a partially rebuilt right knee, Vonn was considered a medal contender at the Olympics before her final World Cup race a week before. In that downhill, she tore her left ACL, though she said she still could ski in the Games.
Vonn was in search of her second gold medal in the downhill, having won in 2010 in Vancouver. She also has two bronze medals. She has 84 World Cup victories, including two this season.
–Field Level Media
