Where to Ski And Snowboard - Vonn ‘devastated’ to miss Sochi

Vonn ‘devastated’ to miss Sochi

7th January 2014, by Abi Butcher

Lindsey Vonn says her knee is too unstable to ski in the Winter Olympics next month

Lindsey Vonn says she is “devastated” not to be defending her Olympic downhill title at Sochi next month.

The 29-year-old Olympic champion says her knee is too unstable to compete at top level. Last year she suffered a serious knee injury at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria, and spent 10 months working to get back to full form.

Vonn returned to training in September, determined to make it to the Sochi Winter Olympics, but in November she partially tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) once again.

“I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi,” announced the skier, on facebook today.

“I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level.

“On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my team-mates can go for gold.

“Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA.”

Vonn won downhill and Super-G gold at the 2009 World Championships in Val d’Isère and recorded her fifth consecutive women’s World Cup downhill title in 2012.

The Winter Olympics starts in Sochi, Russia on 7 February.

Elsewhere, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has broken her pelvis in a cross-country skiing accident while in Engadine, Switzerland, with her family in December. Merkel did not realise her pelvis was broken until a visit to her doctor on Friday. She now has to spend three weeks resting in bed.