Vonn injures left knee in crash at World Cup race

Vonn, a pre-race favorate, slid out of the course, crashing near the bottom, and was taken off the hill on a sled by ski patrol.

The Minnesota native is focused on preserving her World Cup lead, but that may prove hard even if she is cleared to ski since she likely won’t be racing at 100 percent health. Winner Federica Brignone of Italy, who started with bib number eight, said she was lucky to get down the shortened course before more snow fell.

The skiers had to fight heavy snow and winds after waiting through a three-hour delay in Soldeu, El Tarter.

In the super-G standings, Vonn’s lead over Gut is 64 points while the third-placed Tina Weirather is 134 points behind.

For Laurenne Ross her second place was an equally impressive mark in her career. A giant slalom specialist, Brignone earned her maiden win in the season-opening race in October in Soelden, Austria, and Saturday’s win was her first podium in a different discipline.

However, she had been back to near her best this year at the age of 31 and last month claimed her 76th World Cup victory, taking her closer to the overall record of 86 held by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark.

Also for Tippler, it was a second career podium as she finished behind victor Vonn in a super-G in Lake Louise, Alberta, in December.

The women’s World Cup weekend in Soldeu continues on Sunday with alpine combined of super-G and slalom.

According to the AP, there is no immediate update on Vonn’s status. “It’s like insane, I can’t believe it”, the Italian said.