ESPN News Services
Feb 6, 2025, 07:01 AM ET
Lindsey Vonn hooked a gate with her right arm early in her run and did not finish Thursday's super-G in her first appearance at the Alpine skiing world championships in six years.
The gate pressed on her forearm, locked her elbow by her side and pushed the whole arm back with pressure on her shoulder. Vonn avoided falling and was able to stop but then grasped her arm in apparent pain.
Spectators in the area gasped and grew silent with concern. Vonn skied down to the finish and waved to the crowd.
"I am OK," Vonn said. "I hit my nerve somehow and I hit the gate and lost feeling in my arm, but it's coming back slowly."
On a course set by U.S. ski team coach Alex Hoedlmoser, Vonn had posted the 16th-fastest time at the first split before her mishap.
"I know I skied the top well, I thought. Been playing with my material, my boots," Vonn said. "Just I was a little too aggressive to the gate and then it happened."
Vonn is also scheduled to race in the downhill Saturday, with training Friday, and the team combined Tuesday.
The 40-year-old retired in 2019 after winning bronze in downhill in Are, Sweden, following several injuries but returned to the circuit this season with a new titanium right knee. She had entered Thursday's race a day after saying she was dealing with "a cold or the flu."
Austrian skier Stephanie Venier beat the pre-race favorites to win the super-G, finishing 0.10 seconds ahead of Federica Brignone of Italy. Lauren Macuga of the United States and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway shared bronzes, 0.24 off the lead.
"It's just a dream, and it's just amazing in front of the home crowd. Nothing can beat this," Venier said. "It was just a good run, I think my best ever. I am a world champ, it's so unreal."
Venier was the 2013 junior world champion in super-G, but her only medal in a senior race before Thursday was a silver in downhill from the 2017 worlds. She has three career World Cup wins, including one in a super-G in Switzerland a year ago.
"It sounds unreal. I slept so bad last night. I was so nervous," Venier said of her win. "I was extremely nervous at the start, I didn't know how to handle, but it was probably a good omen."
The race started in mostly sunny conditions, but more clouds came in after the first half hour. More parts of the course were in the shadow when Vonn started in 30th position.
Prerace gold favorite Sofia Goggia lost time on Venier at all splits except at the bottom, where she could make up only a fraction and missed the podium by six-hundredths in fifth.
Lara Gut-Behrami, who leads the World Cup super-G standings this season, was slowed by a similar incident to Vonn's. The Swiss skier hooked a gate with her left arm halfway down her run and finished 0.70 behind in eighth.
Olympic champion Ester Ledecka seemed on medal course for most of her run but came wide in a few turns near the bottom of the course and finished in seventh.
Thursday's opening race at the worlds took place exactly one year before the 2026 opening ceremony for the Milan-Cortina Olympics. The next event is the men's super-G on Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
