You know you have something special when winning an overall World Cup title fulfills expectations rather than pipedreams. Such is the case with American Lindsey Vonn. After claiming her first ever overall globe
Lindsey Vonn World Cup Title
last year, she was the favorite heading into this season. Yes, a U.S. alpine skier began the year as the one to beat. And yet no one did.
Maybe the most impressive thing was the method by which she won this year’s title – turning a weakness into a strength. This season was the more complete of the two championships. Whereby, last year’s title was achieved largely on the merits of her speed skiing success, this year saw Vonn contribute to her cause on the technical side as well. And not only did she contribute, she actually excelled in slalom, finishing 3rd in the discipline on the year after winning the opening event of the season.
This improvement is not by accident. No one works harder in the summer than Lindsey Vonn. While it would be tempting for most to soak up a world number one title by kicking back on the beach, Vonn let loose by kicking herself in the butt for six hours a day in the gym. The results were immediate as she won the opening slalom of the season that induced a collective “uh oh” from the rest of the women’s field. Lindsey was untouchable the previous year in downhill and if she is now not only scoring big points in slalom, but also winning races, the battle was going to be for second place alone.
It is important to remember that there are more alpine disciplines now than there were in previous eras so the opportunity to win is greater. The likes of Tamara McKinney had a much smaller margin for error, but, that said, you still have to go out and do it. And this is a sport where even the smallest of mistakes can make the difference between winning and losing so to be as precise and consistent as Vonn has is nothing short of spectacular.
One other fact makes elevates Vonn from a worthy champion to a truly admirable one. And that is her undeniably engaging and unassuming personality. She always wears a smile, seems genuinely surprised by her results and is never shy about sharing all of her emotions. There is an authenticity about Vonn that is appealing. She respects the process and appreciates the journey without losing the joy in the execution. She has the little girl love of the sport with the big girl discipline to compete at the highest level. She is impossible not to like or root for.
I’ve always found it kind of funny how we spend so much anxiety over whether or not the athletes on our favorite teams in our most beloved sports are good or bad people beyond the playing field. It shouldn’t really matter, but for many people it does. Shocking, too, how their analysis of an athlete’s personal behavior seems to correspond with their most recent on-field performances. We justify the jerks when they are helping our teams win and ride them out of town when they are losing. The point is that it makes them easier to embrace when they are like Lindsey Vonn. There is a total package there that makes our emotional investment in her feel right. If she was a cold, irascible figure it would not preclude us from marveling at her achievements, just make them less fulfilling. But it is anything but with Vonn. She hits every proper note for the ski fan and is about to do the same for the mainstream as well. This girl is going to be the star of the Olympic Games in Vancouver. No athlete will receive more attention, buzz or pure hype leading up to 2010 than Lindsey Vonn train. And given her demeanor, how can you not hop right on board?
Lindsey is the best
tks for the effort you put in here I appreciate it!