LINDSEY VONN ANNOUNCES HER RETIREMENT FROM SKI RACING

The iconic American ski-racer, Lindsey Vonn has announced her retirement from ski racing this weekend, citing on-going problems with a recent injury to her knee on the Super G at Lake Louise, compounded by another crash at Copper Mountain last year.

The highly-decorated champion penned an emotional letter on her Instagram channel announcing her retirement, explaining “My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it’s time for me to listen. “

Frequently stated to be one of the world’s greatest ever champions, Lindsey’s illustrious career will see her bow out of racing with a final race in Are, Sweden, with an extraordinary tally of success: 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, 3 Olympic medals and 7 World Championship medals. The Colorado-based racer has been frequently lauded for her inspiring never-give-up attitude in the face of adversity. Ski-racing comes with it’s risks, and with a catalogue of injuries including torn ACL’s, concussions, breaks and more, Lindsey has frequently shared her super-hero esque battles to redemption and comeback with her 1.6 million Instagram followers. At age 34, as the most highly-decorated female ski-racer ever, Lindsey can surely celebrate an extraordinarly successful career, piqued with other highs which have seen her trasncend her sport and cross into the mainstream, a well-known and liked face within the celebrity circle, occassionaly causing contravsery. During the last Korea Olympics when failing to make the podium on the super-G, trolls pulled up Lindsey’s Tweet’s from the previous December stating she was skiing "for the people ... not the president", digging into her performance and attacking her critiques of Trump.

Tiger Shaw, the President and CEO, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, tweeted ”You have consistently raised the bar, you have created a legacy that will live forever, and you have given us all some of the greatest memories in our sport.” following the announcement of Lindsey’s retirement, joining a chorus of voices championing the incredible athlete. Lindsey had set herself one final but challenging goal this ski season, to surpass the World Cup wins at the all-time mark held by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden. She will finish four wins short of that, but ultimately, arguably one of the most iconic winter-sport champions ever, male or female.