Finally, the third try was the charm for two-time world champion Lindsey Vonn of Vail, Co.
After near misses in hat trick bids at Val d'Isere, France (third in the super G), and Lake Louise, AB (second in the super G), the skier with a vice grip on the early World Cup points standings followed two consecutive downhill wins with a triumph in the super G on Sunday in Haus Im Ennstal, Austria, besting the field by more than a half second.
Vonn, 25, the 5-10, 160-pound flier originally from Minnesota, also won back-to-back downhills Friday and Saturday at Haus. She became the first American—man or woman—to ever to win on three straight days. The last time an international woman accomplished the feat was Dec. 4-6, 1997, when German Katja Seizinger won a speed trio in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.
"It's good to know that I can do it," Vonn said. "There was definitely a little bit more pressure today because everybody was wanting me to do the three in a row, and I wanted to do it myself, so it's just good to know that I can ski well under pressure, and it just gives me more and more confidence going into Vancouver."
And as if that's not reward enough, Vonn's picture will adorn three gondolas at the resort to commemorate her 26th, 27th and 28th World Cup wins.
"The course was awesome, I had so much fun," Vonn said. "The snow was in perfect condition and I just let it go. I didn't concentrate too much on all the tactics, I just tried to really charge as much as I could."
Vonn trailed Sweden's Anja Paerson at the first interval but picked up steam through the middle section of the course and crossed the line .53 seconds ahead. She said she just tried to keep it simple and ski a clean run.
"It's an incredible performance," said women's speed coach Alex Hoedelmoser. "From the midway down it gets really technical and steep. She had a perfect line and was aggressive enough to master the final part."
The victory also moved the two-time defending overall champion to second all time for Americans with her 28th win, passing Phil Mahre (Bode Miller has 31).
"I'm proud of myself," Vonn said of achieving the trifecta. "It's not easy to do. I was tired today, and it's hard to stay focused, but I did it. Now I'm just going to try to recover for the slalom in two days."
Vonn now leads the overall World Cup by 192 points, 894-702, over Maria Riesch of Germany. Nobody else is close. The third-place overall skier is Kathrin Zettel of Austria with 569 points.
With a perfect 400 points, Vonn leads the downhill standings by 164 over Riesch, the super G by 95 points over Swiss Nadia Styger, and the super combined by 20 points, also over Riesch.
As for the bone bruise on her left arm that has her in a cheetah brace, Hoedelmoser said it shouldn't be an issue outside of the slalom, where she brushes up against gates.
"It doesn't really bother her too much anymore at the start," he said.
Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) was 10th for the U.S., with Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, VT) also finishing in the points at 21st.
The U.S. women raced slalom in Flachau, Austria Tuesday.
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Downhill success for Vonn
A plaid-clad Lindsey Vonn overcame a bone bruise on her left arm to tough out her fourth 2010 Audi FIS World Cup downhill win in as many races, pushing off for a fast start, building speed throughout her run on a course shortened by heavy fog Saturday in Austria.
"It was really tough," Vonn said. "It was really short, and I knew that I had to be nearly perfect to be able to get a win today."
The race was delayed for two hours while athletes and spectators waited for fog to lift, and the start was moved to the reserve super G start—the lowest possible alternate.
In her grey and pink plaid Spyder racing suit, Vonn looked at ease despite admitting to trouble with starts at the onset of the weekend's events. She took an early lead and held it over the early benchmark from Switzerland's Nadja Kamer to win by .14 seconds, her narrowest margin of victory this season.
"I had a little trouble out of the start, I caught my pole in my legs," said Vonn, who has made all but one World Cup downhill podium since February 2008. "I think that cost me a little bit of time, but thankfully I had a good run."
Seeming right at home after a six-year break from racing in Haus im Ennstal, it was Vonn's fifth consecutive World Cup downhill win, dating to the discipline's championship last season.
"She's very, very confident in speed," said women's speed coach Alex Hoedelmoser. "The mental game is huge, she knows that she can beat everybody. Even today, with very, very tough conditions—especially when she ran, conditions changed and got worse—and she was able to do it. It's pretty amazing."
The endless waiting didn't faze the two-time defending crystal globe owner, who was the last to leave the finish area after signing autographs for every fan.
"This weekend has been a big confidence booster for me and a really good turn of events," Vonn said. "It didn't look good for a while there."
Vonn's continued dominance wasn't the only bright spot for the U.S. team.
Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) earned her first World Cup top 10 since March 2007, taking advantage of the early conditions and skiing to ninth with bib No. 2.
It snowed hard the entire race, and a significant headwind met racers on a bumpy course with flat light.
On Friday, Vonn charged through flat light conditions to win the downhill Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Austria.
"I needed this win today to get my confidence back on track and to feel like I could ski well again. It's been a couple of bad races since my arm injury," Vonn said. "I was able to concentrate really well on my run. I'm happy with the way the weekend is starting and hopefully I can keep the ball rolling and have a good race tomorrow and Sunday."
It was the 26th career win and third downhill of this season for Vonn, who said her injured arm was not really a factor for her.
Miller tops Yanks in slalom
Bode Miller 32, of Franconia, N.H. gritted out a 14th-place finish, while Ted Ligety 25, of Park City, Utah nipped at the leader's time before hitting a gate and failing to finish the second run of an FIS World Cup slalom in Switzerland on Sunday.
"Today we had three guys in the top 15 after the first run," said U.S. head coach Sasha Rearick. "We haven't done that this year, so that's positive."
Ligety sat 7th, Miller 9th, and Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH) was 13th after solid first runs on a welcome sunny day after heavy fog cancelled Saturday's giant slalom, but their luck ran out in try No. 2.
Ligety, who crossed the tips of his skis and still managed to make a gate in his first run, was blazing through the course set by U.S. coach Rudi Soulard when he started a turn slightly early and missed a gate. The Olympic combined champion hasn't had two full runs in the slalom since Levi in November.
French slalom specialist Julien Lizeroux ruled the day, beating Austria's Marcel Hirscher by .34 seconds with a rocket-fueled second run.
The slalom marked the second of six this month, but just three of those, including Adelboden, count toward Olympic qualification.
The U.S. speed team will head to Switzerland for a super combined Friday, a downhill Saturday, and a slalom Sunday.
In the overall standings, Austria's Benjamin Raich leads Switzerland's Carlo Janka 639-577. Ligety stands in seventh place overall with 317 points, and is third in giant slalom with 192 points.
Lindsey Vonn reacts to her record-setting third consecutive World Cup victory Sunday at Haus, Austria. Photo by Getty Images/AFP-Samuel Kubani.
