Lindsey Vonn's late mistake costs her super-G medal in her Olympic debut

One uncharacteristic mistake from Lindsey Vonn cost her a chance at winning a second Olympic medal in super-G. Vonn finished tied for sixth in the event with Italy's Federica Brignone, doing so after being the first skier to race the course and crossing the finish line in 1 minute, 21.49 seconds.

"At least I'm not fourth," Vonn said on NBC. "I'm actually happier to be fifth than fourth."Incredibly, Vonn was fifth at the time of that quote -- but then Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic, who was borrowing Mikaela Shiffrin's skis for the race, stunned the field and stole the gold. Ledecka's win might wind up being the most shocking result of these Olympics, considering her primary event doesn't even involve skiing: Ledecka will compete next week in snowboard parallel giant slalom. As for Vonn, she skied a mostly solid run with the exception of one late turn -- three gates from the finish line -- that shot her wide right off-course. That slide wound up costing her valuable tenths of a second and put her at a disadvantage.

In fact, Vonn said on NBC afterward that her going first was also a significant challenge and she listed the reasons why.

"Number one is always really difficult, especially in super-G," she said. "You know, we haven't been on this trail yet this year, I think it was a pretty big disadvantage, to be honest. There was a little bit of fluff left on the course, and unfortunately I got some headwind in the middle section. Definitely the winds have been chasing for every racer. But I attacked. I gave it everything I had, I have no regrets. I made a mistake on the bottom, but that's what happens in super-G. I'm disappointed but I'm not upset because all you can do is give it your best and that's what I did." 

By the time the eighth skier finished, Vonn was no longer in contention for a medal. She watched one by one as her chance to win gold, then silver, then bronze was taken away. .


Source :- cbssports