Lindsey Vonn crashes out of Super G in 2013 World Championships
Champion skier Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital after a terrifying crash at the February 5 Women's Super G World Championships in Schladming, Austria.
You can see video footage of Lindsey Vonn's crash to the left: it's the stuff of nightmares, even if you're not a skier. You can see Lindsey Vonn hit a jump at speeds that would challenge a normal skier's bowels (she was .12 second behind leader Tina Maze), and catch a funny edge on her right ski as she lands.
Vonn then pitched forward, twisting her right leg until it released from the ski, but not before injuring her knee. After her left ski released, Lindsey Vonn went careening down the course. Lindsey Vonn's doctors described it as a "complex knee injury", later clarified as a cruciate and lateral ligament injury.
Atmospheric conditions in Schladming were horrible: the event was delayed for over three hours due to poor visibility, and skiers struggled all day with the flat light and fog.
The final podium for the Women's Super G looked like this:
- Maze (Slovenia)
- Lara Gut (Switzerland)
- Julia Mancuso (USA)
While no bones were broken, Lindsay Vonn's ski season is almost surely over. Here's the info we have so far:
Vonn injury: confirmed - no fracture. Not confirmed- severity of ligament damage.
— AlpineAnnouncer (@sporino) February 5, 2013
Here's hoping that Lindsey Vonn recovers quickly, so she can get back to doing what she does best. Vonn is a superhero in the professional skiing world, winning four out of the last five overall World Cup titles. She has also won four out of the last five Super G titles; three out of the last five Combined titles... and five out of the last five Downhill titles.
In 2011, Parker McDonald, a 16-year-old student at Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, swung for the fences and asked Lindsey Vonn to Homecoming. Lindsey Vonn said yes. Come on, that's pretty cool.
