Gold for Stuhec - Vonn came in third in her last Downhill

Waking up to snowfall this morning, the course and slip crews were busy to get the racetrack ready for today’s race. A large crowd and the sun greeted the racers and witnessed a tight and competitive race.

Lindsey Vonn was obviously the talk of the day as she performed her last Downhill race and finished third, ending her career on the podium just like Aksel Lund Svindal did in the men’s Downhill on Saturday.

“I think everyone knows my mentality by now, I always risk everything all the time, which is the reason I’ve been able to win so much and it’s also the reason why I crash so much and have had so many injuries”, she said and continued:

“I risked it all today. I was so nervous all day and had serious anxiety. I wanted more than anything to finish strong. I didn’t want to end up like I did on Tuesday, in the fence.“ 

After Wendy Holdener had defended her Alpine Combined title on Friday, Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec did the same today by winning the downhill again like in St. Moritz, Switzerland two years ago. 

“It was not a bad run, not at all, Stuhec said, laughing, and continued: “I still have to gather all my feelings because I’m quite emotional so it might take a while”.

The Slovenian speed queen was away for most of the 2018 season due to an injury but has made a comeback and is showing stellar shape.

“None of what happened before actually matters because it’s a new day and a new chance. We all start from zero and it’s the same for everyone. I just do my best and apparently it was good enough”. 

Sharing the podium with Ilka Stuhec and Lindsay Vonn is silver medalist Corinne Suter, Switzerland’s new “speed queen.”  She was overjoyed with tears, having won already a bronze in the Super G earlier this week. After the Downhill, she did not feel as moved as after the Super G.

“I’m feeling a bit better because after the Super G I was so surprised that I got a medal and today I hoped for a medal but the run wasn’t perfect so I’m just super happy about my second place today”, she said.  

While performing well as a team by placing four racers in the top ten, Austria missed out of the medals by a mere four hundredth of a second.  Ramona Siebenhofer regretted to be so close to the medals twice in three days, she smiled and said: “My colleagues and I performed well and confirmed our good form. This is positive and let’s us look forward to the future.”  Tamara Tippler confirmed this and is looking forward to getting a rest now and go home to be with friends and family.

In front of many Norwegian fans, Ragnhild Mowinckel again performed very well and enjoyed the big cheers.  “We had a perfectly prepared course and good weather. It was super nice!” Her fifth place confirmed the great season she’s experiencing.

Besides the Italian team, Germany’s ladies were left wondering where they lost the time today.  

Like yesterday, Medals Plaza will be rocking again tonight when we bid farewell to Lindsay Vonn once more and celebrate Slovenia’s big win.