Lindsey Vonn out of last Olympic ski race

Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts after skiing out during the first run of the Women's slalom, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.
AP Photo/Luca Bruno

Lindsey Vonn's Olympics is over after she skied out of the women's slalom, her last Alpine event in Vancouver.

Vonn straddled a gate in the first half of her run Friday. She could not correct her line after her right, outside ski slid away coming out of a left-hand turn.

She skied down to the finish area, smiled ruefully and was seen saying, "I don't know what's going on."

Vonn was not expected to win a medal in slalom. She struggled in the event on the World Cup circuit this season even before a series of injuries this month.

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She skied with a broken right pinkie that was protected by a hard plastic casing. She also had back pain from a crash at Wednesday's giant slalom.

In addition, Vonn has been troubled by a sore right shin from a Feb. 2 training spill in Austria that prevented her practicing quick turns through slalom gates.

Vonn, a native of Burnsville, won two medals at Vancouver, finishing on the podium in both races she completed.

She won her gold medal as an overwhelming favorite in her signature downhill event, and took the bronze in the super-G.

Vonn crashed out of the slalom portion of the super-combined. She was poised to win a medal before failing to finish the first run in GS.

The 25-year-old American failed to complete a two-run slalom in each of her last three races before the Olympics, and had a single top-three finish in seven events this season.

Vonn last won a slalom in January 2009, at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)