After being named Olympic Athlete of the Week by USA Today and 2009 Athlete of the Year by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month, Alpine racer and two-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn made history by being the first U.S. Ski Team athlete to be honored as SportsWoman of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) since Picabo Street in 1998.
"This is a huge honor, especially with the Olympics just a few weeks away,” Vonn said. “This past year has been amazing and because of that, it's been so cool to see how many people are getting excited about alpine skiing. Regardless of whether I win a race or crash, I get so many notes of encouragement from fans. That says something special about the Olympic spirit. It isn't something that lives in just the athletes; it also lives in everyone who supports what we love."
Looking back at Vonn's athletic development it was obvious early on that she was by no means an average performer when she became the first American to win at Italy's Trofeo Topolino (for skiers of 11-14 age) where she was victorious in slalom in 1999.
Her success momentum has been increasing ever since as evident in her nine Wolrd Cup wins last season as well as her record-breaking consecutive triple-race victory at three ski speed races at Haus im Ennstal, Austria (watch the race video here!) earlier this month. No American skier has ever achieved this feat before within the same short time span.
Vonn does not only like to break records but also belief barriers. Expect nothing but greatness from her next month in Vancouver as she continues to make history as one of America's best female skiers ever.
For more information about Vonn:
- visit her official website
- watch Vonn's weekly video episode featuring her training and competitions
- follow her on twitter
Related articles:
- USA Today selects Olympic Athlete of the Week: U.S. Ski Team's Lindsey Vonn (video)
- Nine female athletes make 2010 U.S. Olympic Speedskating Team for long track (video)
- Amanda Evora makes U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team after earning Silver at Nationals (video)
- Four female athletes make the 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team USA
- Erin Hamlin makes women's 2010 Olympic Luge Team USA (video)
Watch the U.S. Ski Team's video about Lindsey Vonn ALL OUT below:
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