American Lindsey Vonn won the Alpine Skiing World Cup women’s downhill race at Lake Louise, the Canadian layout among her favorites since her first World Cup win there in 2004.
Vonn won in 1min 50.50 secs with Austrian Cornelia Huetter the runner-up, .58 of a second adrift, and Austria’s Ramona Siebenhofer third in 1:51.57, edging France’s Margot Bailet by .09 of a second.
Reigning downhill and Super-G World Cup champion Vonn collected her 69th World Cup victory, stretching her all-time record, and 115th podium finish and added a 16th win to a mighty trophy haul at Lake Louise.
For Vonn, 31, the most successful woman in World Cup history, another victory at Lake Louise makes her feel old.
“I think last year’s win was probably the most significant for me coming back from two injuries and being able to win again was an incredible feeling. This year it’s just as incredible -– I kind of feel old. All the other girls on the podium with me are very young,” said Vonn.
Vonn’s prior wins at Lake Louise include her first two World Cup triumphs in 2004 and 2005 downhills, followed by a host of victories down the years in downhill and Super-G.
In 2013, Vonn was injured in a training run barely two weeks before Lake Louise, reinjuring her right knee, and settled for 40th and 11th in downhills and fifth in the Super-G.
“I kind of felt relieved to be on the top step of the podium again today and to reassert myself as someone who’s not going away in the speed events,” Vonn said.