Val d’Isere, France
It was her first win of a difficult season so far, one marred by a crash and a recent back injury, and it brought both of them to tears.
Alan Kildow, wearing a white ski hat with the name of the French resort written on it, was tearful as his daughter won 12 years after clinching a downhill win here — the third win of the record 78 she cherishes.
The 33-year-old American ski star has seven wins and 10 podiums at Val d’Isere, but her father missed the others.
“He’s never been to Val d’Isere,” Vonn said. “It was really cute when he was crying at the finish.”
After Vonn finished 12th in downhill at Lake Louise in early December, a day after crashing in the season-opening downhill, she turned to him for moral support.
“I asked my dad if he could come to some races with me. My dad’s always the one who says, ‘Never, never give up.’ He loves Winston Churchill,” Vonn said. “It’s nice to be able to share these moments with my dad as I approach the end of my career. It’s also time to appreciate things more, also with the passing of my grandpa.”
Then it was Vonn’s turn to cry as she struggled to finish her sentence.
“So, I feel really a lot closer to him when we’re together,” she said, her voice breaking with emotion. “When I’m able to ski well, I feel like I do it for him as well.”
Norweigian Wins Men’s Downhill
Selva Di Val Gardena, Italy
For his record sixth win in Val Gardena — four super-Gs and two downhills — Svindal clocked 1 minute, 57 seconds for a 0.59-second advantage over Jansrud.
Max Franz, last year’s winner from Austria, finished third, 0.85 back.