NEW YORK — Lindsey Vonn has had her share of ups and downs on the ski slopes.
What happened Saturday definitely qualifies as the latter.
The American ski star was evacuated off the slope by sled after crashing about 50 seconds of the way through what would have been roughly a minute run during a super-G event in Andorra. The U.S. ski team noted that Vonn had the best time at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup event in Soldeu-el Tarter when she went down.
“She was taken off the mountain on a sled by ski patrol for evaluation,” the U.S. Ski Association said in a statement. “She is presently being evaluated to determine if she sustained any injuries.”
The start of Saturday’s event in Andorra was delayed several hours due to strong winds and snowfall, FIS Alpine noted.
A lot was still uncertain Saturday about Vonn. It might not be that bad, given that skiers often crash, then get up and resume racing right away.
Still, the image of her lying on her back surrounded by medical personnel is enough to give fans a scare, for a variety of reasons.
Vonn is 31 years old and already has an extensive injury history, like the torn ACL/MCL and fractured tibial plateau she suffered during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2013.
Vonn pushed hard to come back, according to her U.S. ski team bio, only to be derailed by a training crash the following November and more knee troubles in months to come that kept her out of the 2014 Olympics, her official U.S. ski team bio notes.
Yet the Minnesota native since has come back strong.
Entering this weekend, she led all others in the contest for alpine skiing’s World Cup — outpacing Switzerland’s Lara Gut with 1,215 points, which is nearly 400 more than Viktoria Rebensburg in third place.
Vonn hasn’t been only made her mark on the slopes. She’s also been in the news for dating golf great Tiger Woods and, more recently, for posing only in body paint for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
