Sawt Falasteen - 'Driven' Vonn storms to 84th World Cup win in Austrian downhill

Less than a month before the Milan-Cortina Games, the 41-year-old dominated the shortened course to finish ahead of Norwegian Kajsa Vickhoff Lie at 0.37sec and American Jacqueline Wiles at 0.48s.

"I'm a pretty stubborn and driven person," said Vonn, who won her first World Cup race in December 2004 and returned to the world circuit last winter after retiring in 2019.

"I have an intense amount of competitiveness in me, it's just how I'm wired, so I'm thankful I have that ability."

In challenging conditions, with a lower starting gate due to poor weather and visibility, in the number six bib, Vonn was on form from start to finish.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion made the difference particularly in the second half of the race, taking very direct turns to gain more speed than the others and hurtle towards the finish line.

"I honestly thought with my start number that I had no chance, because there's so much snow and there wasn't really a track at number six," Vonn said.

"I thought I had no chance so I just swung really hard. I had to risk a lot with my line to really stay in the hunt.

"I think I executed my plan really well, I brought good intensity to my race."

Vonn crossed the finish line without any outpouring of joy, still unsure if her performance would be enough to secure the win given the number of competitors still to start.

- 'Controlling the emotion' -

But ultimately no-one managed to challenge her, not even Italian Sofia Goggia, who was seeking her first downhill victory this winter, but had a disastrous run with the 2018 Olympic downhill winner finishing 17th at 0.97sec.

"There was no strategy to have today, we just had to go for it," added Vonn's coach, former skier Aksel Lund Svindal.

Vonn went straighter than anyone else at the Panorama turn and it paid off.

"I felt within myself, I didn't feel like I was doing anything crazy, but definitely it was a much different line than everyone else was taking, and that's why I was able to ski a little bit faster than the rest," she explained.

Returning to the World Cup circuit last year, more than five years after announcing her retirement, with a titanium knee replacement that allows her to ski pain-free, and motivated by the Olympics in Cortina, Vonn has rediscovered her best form this winter.

"No one's expectations are higher than my own, so I try to keep everything in perspective," the American continued.

"I know I'm going to have a lot of emotion in Cortina -- it's going to be a matter of controlling it."

While she stated that she was taking "no risks" before the 2026 Games, she once again confirmed her status as the dominant force in the discipline with her second win this winter after St. Moritz, Switzerland, in December.

She climbed onto her fifth podium of the season in six races and leads the downhill standings with 340 points.

Reigning Olympic downhill champion Corinne Suter of Switzerland finished 22nd in her first race of the season after suffering multiple leg injuries in a training accident.

The race was interrupted after Austrian Magdalena Egger crashed into the safety netting.

The skier, who reached her first World Cup podium last month, second behind Vonn in the St. Moritz downhill, was airlifted to hospital, visibly suffering from a knee injury.

The World Cup continues in Zauchensee on Sunday with the women's super-G.

S.Barghouti--SF-PST