Lindsey Vonn's final Olympic race ends with heartbreaking mistake
Lindsey Vonn’s legendary and storied Olympic career ended not with a bang, but a whimper on Wednesday.
The face of American women’s skiing couldn’t even finish what would likely be her final event when she veered off course and missed a gate.
That knocked her out of the women’s combined event, which factors in a downhill race and a slalom race.
Sadly for Vonn, she didn’t even make the first timing split of what was going to be an uphill struggle for her anyway.
She admitted that she would need a “miracle” to medal in what historically has been one of her signature events.
“I’m a pretty good competitor,” Vonn told reporters about three hours prior to the slalom event, per Yahoo Sports.
“I’m going to give it hell, and maybe I can pull out a miracle,” she said.
Instead of a miracle, Vonn’s career likely ended on a mistake.
It’s a tough ending to what has been a tough Olympics for Vonn.
Despite her vaunted status, a combination of mistakes and injuries have led to her walking away from the Pyeongchang Games with just a lone bronze medal.
An Olympic medal is still an incredible achievement, but Vonn and her team had to have been expecting more.
Instead, her story of the 2018 Winter Olympics might be the passing of the torch.
While Vonn struggled in the slalom after posting the best downhill time, American Mikaela Shiffrin took a subpar downhill time and still managed to medal in the slalom event.
She said finishing a full two seconds behind Vonn’s downhill time “almost takes the pressure off. I can ski free and see what happens.”
Shiffrin, who at 22 is 11 years younger than Vonn, was able to earn a silver medal after a fantastic showing in the slalom.
#Silver for Shiffrin! @MikaelaShiffrin earns her second medal in the 2018 #WinterOlympics with this slalom run in the women's combined! #BestOfUS https://t.co/4YMw63E4C3 pic.twitter.com/WOcqCiVZr0
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2018
She will likely fill the void left behind by Vonn as the face of U.S. women’s skiing.
Vonn seemed to be at peace with her final race.
.@LindseyVonn is at peace with her final Olympics and tells our own @HeatherCoxNBC she's ready to move on and conquer something else #WinterOlympics https://t.co/1IRcGqkK3h pic.twitter.com/MrkEugTQjL
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 22, 2018
“I’m trying not to let it sink in,” she said about the fact that her career is over.
Aside from attrition and mistakes, Vonn had already sparked plenty of controversy before the Olympics by disparaging President Donald Trump.
She’s been bombarded with criticisms about both her performance on the snow and her comments off of it throughout her time in Pyeongchang.
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