Vonn and Svindal are stepping down – and not voluntarily

Am Weekend Trip there are the laps of honor of two personalities who gave skiing a charisma - far beyond the mountains. American Lindsey Vonn and Norwegian Aksel Svindal stop after their downhill skiing at the World Championships in Åre. The problems with his right knee made it impossible to continue his career, said Svindal when he announced his retirement. Vonn had long held out the prospect of saying goodbye, and last Friday she announced the completion. “My body is broken,” she wrote on Facebook, saying he was calling to her "Stop" too, and it was time to listen to him.

Long injury history Because how often have these two athletes been caught in safety nets, on the ground and in the hospital? Svindal suffered such a serious training accident in Beaver Creek in 2007 that doctors feared for his life for a short time; he needed donor blood and lost 18 kilograms. A year later he won two races on the same track. Vonn wrote of “more injuries and surgeries” than she would like to admit to herself.

Top athletes know that after retirement they will not be able to excel again in an area as quickly as in sport. This idea concerns many people, often during their careers. The life of the best is focused on winning, with a relentlessness that leaves little room for maneuver. You keep going until your health puts a limit to it all.

Aksel Lund Svindal suffered a brutal fall while skiing downhill in Kitzbühel in 2016. © APA/afp / JOE KLAMAR

Svindal's dealings with suffering After his last serious fall in Kitzbühel in 2016, Svindal lay in the same hospital room as the Austrian Georg Streitberger, who had also fallen. Bed by bed, they played “rock, paper, scissors” to see who was allowed into the operating room first. Many people probably underestimate the experience of top athletes in dealing with reality. “Shit happens,” Svindal said after the Beaver Creek fall in 2007, his trainer said at the time, “he was really funny and okay.” Sufferings and comebacks were almost routine for Svindal and Vonn. “Drama Queen” Lindsey Vonn The moment when Vonn and Svindal take their websites offline won't come any time soon. They have become figures with global impact, defined more by their roles than by their humanity. Lindsey Vonn is an extreme example of this, this speed and drama queen who also carries this label when it's not about speed and drama. At some point Vonn was so good, so fast and so far advanced in her hunt for World Cup victories (82) that there was nothing left but to chase Ingemar Stenmark's record (86).

Lindsey Vonn achieved popularity that went far beyond skiing. © APA/getty / Rich Fury

She would probably have driven to her 100th victory to feel safe that she would never be caught. Vonn had become a prisoner of her mission, “I am not done yet,” she tweeted at the beginning of January. Perseverance and attack slogans, again and again. Maybe it's Vonn's luck that her broken body was still strong enough to show her clearly that she now has to free herself.

The fact is, the ski circus will lack the American's entertainment factor. And everyone liked the empathetic and likeable giant from Norway anyway. With a veto from the body, an athlete's career can end prematurely. Lindsey Vonn's sporting successes Winter Olympics: 2010 in Vancouver: gold (downhill), bronze (super-G) 2018 in Pyeongchang: Bronze (downhill)

World Championships: 2007 in Åre: silver (downhill), silver (super-G) 2009 in Val d'Isere: gold (downhill), gold (super-G) 2011 in Garmisch: Silver (downhill) 2015 in Beaver Creek: Bronze (Super-G) 2017 in St. Moritz: Bronze (downhill)

Overall World Cup: 4 wins: 2007/08, 2008/09. 2009/10, 2011/12

Discipline World Cup: 8x winner of the Downhill World Cup, 5x winner of the Super-G World Cup, 3x winner of the Combined World Cup

World Cup victories: 82 The sporting successes of Aksel Lund Svindal Winter Olympics: 2010 in Vancouver: Gold (Super-G), Silver (Downhill), Bronze (RTL) 2018 in Pyeongchang: Gold (downhill)

World Championships: 2005 in Bormio: silver (combination) 2007 in Åre: gold (downhill), gold (RTL) 2009 in Val d'Isere: gold (super combination), bronze (super-G) 2011 in Garmisch: Gold (super combination) 2013 in Schladming: gold (downhill), bronze (super-G)

Overall World Cup: 2 wins: 2006/07, 2008/09

Discipline World Cup: 5x winner of the Super-G World Cup, 2x winner of the Downhill World Cup, 1x winner of the RTL World Cup, 1x winner of the Combined World Cup

World Cup victories: 36

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Vonn and Svindal are stepping down – and not voluntarily

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