Goggia Takes Downhill Globe As Vonn Wins 82nd World Cup Race In Are

For the 82nd time in her illustrious career, Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) stood atop a World Cup podium after winning the downhill at the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden Wednesday. Best of all, she shared the podium with her teammate, Alice McKennis (New Castle, Colo.), who finished third.

Although she came up just short of her ninth World Cup downhill title, Vonn did win the last four downhill events of the season. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, who won two of the eight downhills this season, finished second Wednesday and just nipped Vonn for the downhill title by three points.

The athletes competed on a shortened track due to weather allowing for only a single training run from a lowered start. Organizers attempted to hold a second training run on the morning of the race from higher up on the slope, but wind and snowfall early in the day made this impossible. 

Goggia took the early lead in a race that maintained its intensity all the way to the final finisher. Once Vonn came down in the lead by a tight 0.06 seconds, any skier who finished between the American and the Italian had the chance to alter the globe standings. Both Vonn and Goggia watched in anticipation. In the end, Vonn's teammate McKennis with bib 23 nearly bumped Goggia but crossed the finish line in third to have no effect on the standings.

Goggia, the Olympic gold medallist in downhill, referred to the globe as a dream come true. 

Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished third in the downhill standings for the 2017/18 season. She will challenge for the super-G globe on Thursday when the ladies return to the track for the final speed race of the year. 

“I’m really happy to close out the season with a win, and I’m sure (Sofia) is very excited to have the title,” Vonn said. “Sofia always gives it 110 percent and sometimes she wins, and sometimes she crashes. I feel like she is very similar to myself. We have a great deal of respect for each other and it’s been fun to compete with her this year.”

For McKennis, it was her first trip to the podium since 2013 when she won the downhill in St. Anton, Austria.

“It’s been a while,” McKennis said. “I’m so stoked! It’s been a journey to get here again and to be on the podium again is amazing.”

Wednesday’s race started from the lower start position after the morning training run was canceled due to fog and snow, but that didn’t stop Vonn from nailing her line on the course that will host the 2019 World Championships.

“I don’t think we’ve ever raced from very high up,” Vonn said. “There has always been the problem of fog and wind, so I definitely think that will be a determining factor in the World Championships next year.”

Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) finished eighth.