Lindsey Vonn FIS Downhill Champion! Say What?
Mind you, she has not skied since the crash, but she had such a lead built up and no woman was able to dominate the downhill event sufficiently to overcome Lindsey’s total. One wonders where Lindsey would be if she was able to compete till the end of the season, I bet she would be fighting it out with Tina Maze for the overall title.
Congratulations Lindsey!
2014 Winter Olympics
I like to see the winter sports get some major attention from the world. I like the fact that sports I like to participate in gets the attention I believe these sports deserve. I like the fact I am in a genuine position to intelligently comment on and share those observations. Back in 2010 this effort was undergoing a revival and I had a good time writing up on the Olympics.
I generally consider the International Olympic Committee corrupt, it is a shame but they are a private entity so in the end if they are okay with it then so be it. I remember when Toronto was in the running for the 2008 Summer Olympics game and they lost out to China, to myself that was a foregone conclusion.
I also detest the fact that many people whine about the coverage of skiing. I mean they complain like they expect it will take front and center. Is it their first winter Olympics games? Every winter the broadcast network delays and abbreviates coverage of the events. Yeah, I would like to see the entire field run but even during the World Cup season we get an hour and a half of event coverage and we usually see abbreviated runs.
Well, there are a lot of sports to show and figure skating is the most popular of the winter sports. There is a reason I like to watch figure skating that I think quite a few men will agree with that (at least once they think about it). So, I am okay with the less than perfect coverage of the skiing, especially now I can watch Alpine skiing all winter long.
I generally hate the opening and closing ceremonies (though I will watch). Just so much froo-froo and I hate the infestation of pop-music stars into these events.
Despite all of that, I am looking forward to the Winter Olympic 2014 games.
Leave your opinions about the Winter Olympics in the comments section, I wan to know!
Lindsey Vonn
I finally viewed the video of Lindsey Vonn’s crash on YouTube:
Lindsey is skiing well and has a narrow lead at the first split and about one-tenth of a second behind at the second split. However, there is a minor hiccup here and there in the skiing and then at 47 seconds she launches into the air and when she lands, her right leg crumples on impact. The reports have Lindsey tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), her medial cruciate ligament (MCL), and fracturing her tibia.
The ski then goes off on its own and torques her kneee, spins and tumbles her around, then both of her skis finally release, but the crash has done its damage. I have not seen anyone say with certainty what happened and the type of fracture she received is a lateral tibial plateau fracture which occurs in the upper part of the tibia just below the knee and SportsMD (http://www.sportsmd.com) says this about this kind of fracture:
How does a tibial plateau fracture occur?Tibial plateau fractures occur by three main mechanisms. The first is by a medial or lateral based force (such as the so called “bumper fracture” when a car’s bumper strikes the outside of a person’s leg creating a valgus, or inward, force across the knee). The second mechanism is by a pure axial, or compressive force (such as a fall from height). [emphasis added] The third mechanism is by a combination of both axial and medial or lateral directed force.
That is, the impact of Lindsey landing broker her tibia and then the ski caught the edge and torqued her ACL nad MCL apart. When I see the crash that is my overwhelming thought, her tibia breaks and then the rest of the injuries happen. Hard to believe as Lindsey is well-known for her dedication to training and I am sure she is eating well, but that gives one an idea of the forces involved here.
The other possibility is the valgus force, but after watching the video I do not believe that is what happened, it appears she lands and then all support on the right side of her body is gone and she collapses over that lost right leg, but the right leg remains fairly straight, that is it does not appear as if there is any serious sideways forces to the knee at that immediate point.
She has a long road ahead of her, especially if she wants to compete in the Sochi Olympics. However, she has the time and resources available to her to make that happen. I assume as soon as she can she will be seeing trainers and therapists to get her going again. Lindsey Vonn is going to amaze people!
I have seen some very snarky comments about her, read through the YouTube comments after the video I present. I think they are quite uncalled for but I see where they are coming from. Lindsey’s season was one of brash talk about joining the men’s circuit and then mixed results in the women’s racing prior her month break.
Lindsey Vonn is a fierce competitor and this is not going to get in her way and she is also a seasoned skier and I believe she will be quite comfortable getting back into the starting house. Godspeed on yoru recovery Lindsey!
Video courtesy of JonesHighlights via YouTube and photographs courtesy of The Wikipedia Entry on Lindsey Vonn.
Update March 14, 2013 — Replaced the video from the suspended account with the video from Universal Sport’s YouTube account. That one, will not disappear.
Japan gets a podium!
If you are at all familiar with Japanese skiing you know they are more competitive in the Nordic events especially ski jumping. Why is this? There are a number snow resorts in Japan and they are very competitive in a number of winter athletic events, so why the lack of outstanding Alpine ski program? The same goes for Russia too, again competitive in almost every winter event but for Alpine skiing. However, Russia is focusing on SkiX.
I can understand why many nations do not field competitive ski teams, many nations do not have ready access to snow and so there is no interest, except for maybe a handful of their expatriates.
Despite their foray into bobsledding Jamaica is not a snowsports nation. Erol Kerr is an exception in an exceptional nation. Erol Kerr is a SkiX competitor and I have yet to see him in a SkiX event this year. Of course we do not expect Jamaica to field any skiers let alone one.
I hope to see more of this in the future!
Most of us who pay attention to the ski world know Lindsey Vonn petitioned the FIS to compete against the men in Alpine skiing. The FIS denied her request. Lindsey Vonn is one tough skier and she skis on men’s skis.
There is no doubt Lindsey Vonn would regularly beat about 2/3rds of the men on the current circuit, at least in the speed events of downhill and super-g skiing, but I am skeptical she would be on the podium very often. There is also no doubt I do not want to see an event like Billy Jean King vs. Boggy Riggs and I am sure the FIS does not want that happening either.
My thoughts on this are is that Lindsey could usually wind up near the top, but I also have no doubt she would not get as many podiums and she would not be contending for the overall title either. I am glad the FIS did not allow the event to turn into something other than skiing. I do not blame Lindsey she is looking for more challenge, after all to her it must seem routine to get on the podium.
Lindsey Vonn is the top US skier of the current generation and there is no doubt about that.
Bode Miller is always interesting no matter what he is saying or doing. Even skiing you never know how it is going to end for Bode:
Video courtesy of Universal Sports:
Yes, he did officially complete the run, he avoided the dreaded DNF. Pay particular attention to the comments made by the commentators, wonder if that was a stock phrase (you will know which one) or if it was something he came up with at the moment. I guess not, the phrase refers to a skating move innovated by Dorothy Hamill.
Remember this wipeout from about one month ago? It was Laurenne Ross getting backseated and then flung into the fence at Lake Louise in Canada.
Well, Laurenne is back on her skis and participated in the women’s downhill race at Bad Kleinkirchheim in Austria. The crash did not look real nasty but it sounds like the damage done to Laurenne was fairly serious and there are a lot of reminders of that accident left with Laurenne (just saw an interview on Universal Sports).
The biggest problem, for her, fortunately is not the physical but the mental. That mental remnants of that crash can be very difficult to overcome. When I was a boy I was playing little league baseball and got beaned, it took me nearly a whole year to approach the plate without fear, unfortunately, that was as my little league career was ending (and I was really putting the wood on the ball), what happened to Larenne was a lot worse than what happened to myself.
Be not afraid.
Courtesy of Universal Sports we get to see US World Cup skier Sarah Schleper take her last world cup run in style:
I have seen women ski while carrying their child, but not quite like this! Sarah, congratulations and here is hoping your future is every bit as notable as that last run!
From The U.S. Ski Team on Facebook:
Laurenne Ross suffered facial cuts but all else OK after crash into nets in Lake Louise DH. Drop her a note of best wishes.
I did not see the event as it happened, but I did see replays of the event which you can see here:
The accident occurs about 23 seconds into the video.
In fact, if you are looking at the same video image I see this is the moment Laurenne loses it and from that image, she is obviously in trouble.
Nothing is obvious as to what happens, the video is close and tight on Laurenne, but Picabo notes that Laurenne hit some irregularity on the course and put her out of control, and at the speeds these women are skiing lapses of control can get you intro trouble very quickly.
I remember skiing once, the skiing was late in the season and the snow cover on the hill was very soft and irregular. I was skiing down a hot run and on a headwall and half the headwall was covered with moguls. I was headed for the moguls and went to turn away form those moguls. I caught a ski edge and that caused me to keep going straight for that mogul field. Fortunately, I was able to pull the errant ski back in time and reestablish control and make the turn I needed. However, at that time I was not skiing 60 mph but probably more like 20 mph or so.
While the thoughts at these times are not very well put together they are certainly focused on Oh-Oh! Here is to Laurenne’s speedy return to the slopes!
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