Vonn is winner despite an injury

Associated Press

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy

Skiing through pain is nothing new for Lindsey Vonn. She is also winning some of her toughest races while injured.

Fortified by a few painkillers, she captured a super-G Sunday despite a strained left knee. She hurt herself the day before on a strenuous and spectacular recovery in a downhill.

“It’s really swollen and it’s pretty solid pain,” Vonn said. “But that’s part of the job. It’s definitely not the worst injury I’ve had by a long shot. It’s definitely something I can deal with.”

Vonn finished in 1 minute, 22.64 seconds on a clear day, beating overall World Cup rival Maria Riesch of Germany by a 0.05 seconds. Swiss teenager Lara Gut finished third, 0.88 back. It was the second victory in three days for Vonn, who won a super-G Friday on the Olympia delle Tofane course.

Julia Mancuso, Vonn’s American teammate, finished fourth in her new Hawaiian racing suit that she designed. Swedish standout Anja Paerson was fifth.

Last year, Vonn had a severely bruised shin when she won the Olympic downhill and took the bronze in the super-G in Vancouver. The year before she won her second consecutive overall World Cup title despite slicing her thumb on a champagne bottle in a victory celebration at the world championships.

“Nothing really tops the shin injury,” Vonn said. “I feel like I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries in the past and this one is pretty mild and definitely skiable.”

Having finished third despite a big mistake in the downhill, Vonn skipped the awards ceremony Saturday and received therapy throughout the afternoon and evening.

She hopes to be healed by the Feb. 8 world championships.