Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Each of Thursday's steps was
seen as a sign that, yes, Lindsey Vonn might very well compete in
five Olympic races, after all, and might be able to think once
again about medals, not medicine.


      Painkillers and a Novocaine-like numbing cream for the
American's badly bruised right shin? They seemed to dull the
aching.


      Wearing ski boots, something painful and depressing every time
she tried it last week? She yanked them on and did a course
inspection.


      Actually skiing down a hill for the first time since getting
injured Feb. 2, albeit only in a free run and not on the official
course? It hurt, sure, but was the most exciting step of all, one
that convinced Vonn she was ready to take part in the opening
women's Olympic downhill training session later Thursday.


      Alas, that practice wound up being called off after only two
racers because of thick fog and low visibility - yet even that
development was deemed encouraging by the group known as the
Vonntourage.


      "I was happy to be back on snow today," said Vonn, who lives
and trains in Vail, Colo. "My shin was still very painful, but I
feel like the injury is finally progressing a bit. I am always
disappointed when a training run is canceled, but in this situation
I definitely welcome the extra day to heal."


      Indeed, her husband, Thomas, called the cancellation
"fantastic."


      "It's not like all her competitors are getting multiple runs
down the course. Nobody got to ski it, really, today," said Thomas
Vonn, who serves as a coach and chief adviser to his wife. "So
it's another day of healing, and hopefully tomorrow she feels even
better."


      He said she still aims to race in all five women's Alpine
events, which certainly would be a relief to the U.S. Ski Team,
U.S. Olympic Committee and her fans - to say nothing of NBC and her
various sponsors.


      "She's never taken any races off the table. It's going to be a
day to day: If she can do it, she's going to do it," Thomas Vonn
said. "But she's not pulling out of anything at this point, and
it's looking better than it was yesterday."


      U.S. Ski Team women's coach Jim Tracy was as optimistic as
anyone.


      He knows full well her history of brushing aside injuries and
pain - whether it was making the quick transition from hospital bed
to starting gate after a horrific crash in downhill training at the
2006 Turin Olympics, or managing not to miss a single race after
badly bruising her arm in December.


      Said Tracy of his team's most famous member: "She'll be
ready."


      Before her injury became known Wednesday, Vonn was widely
considered a candidate to win perhaps three or four medals -
including an overwhelming favorite to win golds in the downhill and
super-G - and become the breakout star of the Vancouver Games.


      The first women's race of the Olympics, the super-combined, is
scheduled for Sunday, and the outlook for Vonn evolved quite a bit
in the 24 hours since the two-time World Cup overall champion
raised the possibility of not being able to compete at all.


      "She had a smile today," Thomas Vonn said. "It's very
encouraging. Like, it seems like it's kind of turning a corner,
based off today."


      Lindsey Vonn has been trying all manner of measures to speed the
healing process since she banged her boot against her right leg in
a headfirst tumble earlier this month during pre-Olympic training
in Austria. She tried things as basic as stretching. She tried
laser therapy. She even tried wrapping her leg with an Austrian
curd cheese to bring down the swelling.


      On Thursday, she raised the bar, writing on her Twitter feed in
the morning that she "took a bunch" of painkillers and "numbed
my shin with some creams."


      Later in the day, Vonn posted on Facebook: "The pain level has
gone down from a sharp debilitating pain to something that I feel I
may be able to grit my teeth through."


      U.S. Ski Team doctor Bill Sterett's assessment?


      "Everything," he said, "seems to be resolving."


      Although a physical therapist recommended changing boots,
possibly by cushioning where the top of the equipment meets the
bruise, Thomas Vonn said they decided against that, lest it affect
her performance.


      The women's training was cut short after American Stacey Cook
crashed landing a jump and was flown by helicopter to a medical
facility. She was released hours later with nothing more than what
USOC chief medical officer Jim Moeller called "some pain and
stiffness." The men's downhillers managed to squeeze in a full
training session, meaning there is a chance of racing as scheduled
Saturday.

      If there is more snow and fog, if there are more delays, no
family will be happier than the Vonns.

      "We've heard a lot about Whistler weather, and we welcome it at
this point," Thomas Vonn said. "It's probably not popular, but we
welcome it."

Gallery

Sports

Each of Thursday's steps was
seen as a sign that, yes, Lindsey Vonn might very well compete in
five Olympic races, after all, and might be able to think once
again about medals, not medicine.


Vonn tests shin on skis for 1st time since injury

Go Deeper.

Like this?