Lindsey Vonn Comments on Relationship with Tiger Woods, Injuries and More

Lindsey Vonn has had an eventful 2015, to say the least. The American skier's relationship with Tiger Woods came to an end, and she's been working her way back from serious knee injuries.

Speaking to Bill Pennington of the New York Times, Vonn talked about her return to the sport in which she has won two Olympic medals:

"

I was alone this summer for the first time in a long time. And it was good for me to be on my own. I worked really hard in the gym and remembered that I'm the one making my decisions, and I'm strong enough to do that.

Sometimes I get reliant on other people. I had time to focus on myself. Even if it was a hard summer.

"

Vonn, 31, had ACL reconstruction surgery in January 2014, and she told Pennington her family wanted her to walk away from skiing.

"After my second knee surgery, pretty much everyone in my family said, 'Lindsey, don't you want to walk when you're older?' And I said, 'Don't worry, there's going to be some new medical procedure and I'll have new knees and it'll be no problem.' It never crossed my mind to retire."

Vonn also said she has a three-year plan to "put an exclamation point" on her career, including a return to the Olympics in 2018.

On the subject of Woods and their relationship, Vonn brought up her ex-husband, Thomas Vonn:

"

Thomas was really my first boyfriend, so I didn't have a lot of dating experience. So jumping into a relationship right away after getting a divorce was probably not the smartest move on my part.

I don't regret anything. I loved Tiger, and I had an amazing three years with him. But it was a learning experience as well. With every relationship, you learn what you need and what you want in a partner.

"

Vonn's focus right now is on regaining her physical strength so she can conquer the skiing world as she did at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where she won a gold medal in the downhill event and bronze in the super-G.

"I have a limited window to accomplish my ski-racing dreams," Vonn said, "so I don't want to give that up for really anything."