Vonn crashes, plans one last race Sunday

ARE, Sweden

One of the hallmarks of Lindsey Vonn’s career has been the way she bounces back from major crashes time and time again.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the most successful female skier of all time will enter her last race before retiring following yet another tumble into the safety netting.

Vonn straddled a gate mid-air during the super-G at the world championships Tuesday and ended up sliding down the hill face first.

“I’ve got a bit of a shiner. I feel like I’ve been hit by an 18-wheeler, but other than that I’m great,” Vonn said with a laugh. “My knees are the same as they were before the race. I think my neck’s going to be sore. I got the wind knocked out of me, my ribs are oddly sore. It’ll be fine. Sunday will be great.”

Vonn quickly got up after the fall and skied down the hill under her own power after being tended to by medical personnel. Then she sat and happily answered reporters’ questions during a half-hour news conference.

The 34-year-old Vonn, the all-time leader in women’s World Cup wins, announced last week that she will retire after racing the super-G and downhill at the worlds — meaning that Sunday’s downhill is her final race.

“Don’t count me out,” Vonn said. “I’ve got one more chance. Maybe I’ll pull off a miracle, maybe I won’t. ... I’m going to try my hardest. Just because I get knocked down, it doesn’t mean I don’t get back up.”

Vonn’s long history of crashes has included frightful falls at the 2006 Turin Olympics and 2013 worlds and injuries to virtually every part of her body .

Staff/wire report