It’s All Downhill For Lindsey Vonn As Skier Is Cleared For Training

Lindsey Vonn is expected to begin training today with the U.S. Ski Team in Lake Louise in Alberta, the team reported Tuesday.

Vonn’s return to the slopes comes after the worrisome news of a training crash two weeks ago. Lindsey Vonn’s participation in the official downhill training run at the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Lake Louise is welcome news for ski fans but it’s not a lock that they’ll see her compete.

“A decision on [Lindsay’s] participation in downhill competitions Friday and Saturday, along with super G on Sunday, will be made after the final official training session Thursday,” the news release said.

In light of her recent crash—in which she suffered a “mild strain to her right knee” and “partial tear to her right ACL”—and her career-threatening injury in February—tearing both the ACL and MCL in her right knee—Lindsey Vonn will continue to be evaluated by U.S. Women’s Ski Team Head Physician Dr. Bill Sterett. Sterett and Vonn’s coaches all feel Lindsey’s knee is stable and she is good-to-go with training, although it will require surgery at some point.

Short term, the question is whether or not Lindsey Vonn will compete this weekend. The bigger, long term issue is whether or not Lindsey Vonn will compete for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Vonn says she’d be approaching the injury the same way, whether the Olympics were looming in February or not.

“I probably would’ve done what I’m doing right now, test it out,” Vonn told the Associated Press after a training session at Vail on Sunday. “If I felt like it was possible to keep skiing, I probably would’ve.”

“So it’s kind of like, might as well see how long it holds up. Not a lot of options. In the end, surgery is going to have to happen.”

With her hopes of Olympic competition and setting the all-time women’s record for World Cup wins, Lindsey Vonn is hoping to put the procedure off until the end of the season. With 59 wins, Lindsey Vonn currently sits behind Austria’s Annemarie Proell on the all-time list.

Is Lindsey Vonn coming back too early from her injury? Do you think Lindsey will capture the World Cup record?