Lindsey Vonn Suffers Gnarly Crash During The Final Super-G Race Before Retirement

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Three-time Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn and arguably the best women’s skier of all-time announced her retirement last week, breaking the news in an Instagram post. The 34-year-old claimed that her body is “broken beyond repair” and admitted that her numerous cumulative injuries is what led to her hanging up the skis after 19 years of competitive skiing.

Vonn was hoping to ski off into retirement with a solid performance at the World Championships in Sweden, but that is far from what transpired.

Twenty five seconds into the final Super-G race of her career, the Minnesota native suffered a brutal crash, bringing a painful end to her retirement party.

Another angle:

Luckily, Vonn was able to get up under her own power and ski down the mountain, thanks in part to an inflatable safety airbag she wore under her suit to prevent serious injury.

This crash had to be reinforcement for Vonn that she’s making the right decision in retiring. It seems like she’s happy with the hardware she’s already won throughout her two-decade career.

I can look back at 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals, 7 World Championship medals and say that I have accomplished something that no other woman in HISTORY has ever done, and that is something that I will be proud of FOREVER!

Aint’ no shame in that. Congrats to Lindsey on a legendary career.