Vonn gets gold in downhill

Julia Mancuso of the United States took a surprise silver in the same event.

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) — If this is how Lindsey Vonn skis with a bruised shin, then the rest of the field has no chance.

Vonn showed no signs of discomfort when she won the Olympic downhill by more than half a second Wednesday, with childhood rival and American teammate Julia Mancuso taking a surprise silver medal.

“This is everything I’ve wanted and hoped for,” Vonn said, her voice choked with emotion. “I gave up everything for this.”

Vonn hurt her right shin Feb. 2 during pre-Olympic training in Austria and had hardly skied over the past two weeks. Still, as the two-time defending overall World Cup champion and the winner of five of the six downhills this season, she was an overwhelming favorite.

“She had the weight of the world on her,” said Vonn’s husband and chief adviser, Thomas, a former U.S. skier who also serves as a personal coach. “People were basically hanging the medal around her neck before the start. That’s incredibly hard to deal with.”

Thomas Vonn was up at the top of the hill before his wife’s run, and the Vonns embraced in a hug that lasted for 30 seconds when they reunited at the finish.

“It was one of the most clutch runs I’ve ever seen,” Thomas Vonn said.

In a race characterized by several crashes — including one to Swedish standout Anja Paerson — Vonn’s sped down Franz’s Downhill in 1 minute, 44.19 seconds.

Mancuso finished 0.56 seconds behind, and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria took the bronze medal, 1.46 seconds back.

Maria Riesch of Germany, Vonn’s best friend and usual rival of late, finished eighth. Andrea Fischbacher of Austria placed fourth, Fabienne Suter of Switzerland fifth and Whistler local Britt Janyk of Canada sixth.

Having previously coached the men, U.S. women’s head coach Jim Tracy is at his sixth Olympics and called this his career highlight.

“I’ve been fortunate to be with some pretty great athletes, and I have to say with everything [Vonn] has gone through and Julia’s gone through, this probably ranks as the top one for me,” he said.

Vonn swept the downhill and super-G at last season’s world championships in Val d’Isere, France, but had never won an Olympic medal. She had a horrific crash in downhill training at the 2006 Turin Games.

Mancuso won the giant slalom in Turin but hadn’t finished on the podium since the Olympic test downhill here two years ago. The Squaw Valley, Calif., skier has won only two World Cup downhills in her career, the last nearly three years ago.

“Coming off a back injury last year, I was in a lot of rehab. I knew that I just had to hang on and keep going for it,” Mancuso said. “It’s really been a tough, long road. I’m happy to be in a position where I feel healthy.”

Tracy recounted that Mancuso declared the night before that she could win the race.

“If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to be able to walk the walk, and she did,” Tracy said. “She’s been coming on in super-G and downhill all year. We knew that it was in her.”

Mancuso was an early starter and still led when Vonn skied.

Vonn, a Minnesota native who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., put on a clinic.

Waiting in the starting gate with the sun reflecting orange off her goggles as she stared down the course, Vonn was a study in concentration. Kicking out of the start without regard to her bruised shin, she increased her lead at the first three checkpoints, kicking up a trail of smoky snow in her wake.

Just when it seemed Vonn might go wide, she applied even more leg pressure, shifted her weight and maintained her line.

It wasn’t all perfect, however, and Vonn lost nearly two tenths on the bottom, almost getting knocked off balance as she went over a small bump just before the finish.

But it was more than enough for gold, and Vonn collapsed on her back and yelled with joy in the finish area. She then raised herself and placed both arms in the air in triumph.

“It was not the perfect run by any means. But I attacked and made it down. It’s awesome,” Vonn said, crying.