Lindsey Vonn’s win in the Super G on Sunday makes her the winningest American female ski racer in history.
The 24-year-old double World Champion secured her 19th World Cup victory with the super G win in Tarvisio, Italy, surpassing U.S. great Tamara McKinney’s previous high mark of 18 established in the 1980s.
It was Vonn’s sixth World Cup win of the season and the 43rd podium of her young career. She now stands an impressive third in all-time U.S. World Cup wins (male or female) behind Bode Miller with 31 and Phil Mahre with 27.
“It sounds really weird to me,” said Vonn, who captured gold in both downhill and super G at the recent FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. “I don’t see myself as a record setter and actually never thought it was possible to pass a legend like Tamara.
“I’m extremely thrilled and hope that a lot of kids see what’s possible in ski racing and become inspired. More than any title or record, I want to be a good example to young athletes. The same way Tamara and Picabo [Street] were for me.”
Vonn also holds a 299-point lead over best friend Maria Riesch of Germany in the World Cup overall standings with nine races remaining. No American woman has ever won back-to-back World Cup overall titles.
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Hunter Mountain’s Latitude 42 Winter Jam freestyle competition and concert takes place Saturday and Sunday and features day-long rail jam and quarterpipe competitions, along with live music and entertainment. The two-day competition will award over $12,000 in cash prizes. For more info about this festival, or to pre-register, visit HunterMtn.com or RideHunter.com.
Tomorrow STRIDE, an organization that specializes in recreation services for individuals with disabilities, will welcome 15 wounded warriors who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious permanent injuries. They will spend a three-day weekend with the STRIDE team participating in adaptive skiing and snowboarding at Jiminy Peak Resort. For information about this event and STRIDE’s adaptive sport programs go to http://www.stride.org.
Jiminy Peak will also host a slopestyle event on Saturday at noon. The competition is presented by Potter Brothers and is open to the public. Registration will be held 10-11:30 am in Crane Lodge and the cost to enter is $20 in addition to a valid lift ticket or season pass. Helmets and Smart Cards are required for all competitors.