Lindsey Vonn Wins 6th Straight World Cup Downhill Title After Race Cancellation

Despite still recovering from a serious knee injury (h/t CNN), skier Lindsey Vonn won her sixth straight World Cup Downhill Title after the final race of the season in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, was cancelled due to fog, according to USA Today.

A thick fog over the course forced the International Ski Federation to cancel both the men’s and women’s events, resulting in a one-point title victory over second-place finisher Tina Maze of Slovenia.

The legend’s sixth straight World Cup Downhill Title comes despite missing the last five weeks of the season with an injury she suffered Feb. 5 in the world championships super-G race in Schladming, Austria, per USA Today.

Vonn finished the season with 340 downhill points, but the skier’s injury gave the talented Maze the opportunity to steal the show. 

Fortunately for the American, Mother Nature appears to have been on her side.

All the veteran Maze had to do was finish in the top 14 to win the downhill title, but the cancellation sealed the standings for good and denied the Slovenian the championship.

As great as this news is for Vonn and all the people that support the USA’s ski team, this is an accolade the 28-year-old will not dwell on for very long; there is too much work left to do.

Vonn is a 2014 Olympic favorite and is concentrating on getting healthy. She is still rehabbing after tearing “the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments” in her knee and suffering a broken bone in her leg (h/t USA Today) to prepare for her run at a gold medal in Sochi, Russia.

If her recovery goes as well as it is being reported (h/t New York Daily News), not only should Vonn be ready for the 2014 Olympics, but the champion could also be ready for skiing’s World Cup season in late November.

That would be an incredible recovery time, but as we have seen with Adrian Peterson in the NFL (h/t USA Today), it’s possible to return to elite form on the timetable set for Vonn.