Lindsey Vonn to Retire from Competition at the End of 2018-19 Season

Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn has announced she will retire at the end of the 2018-19 season, regardless of whether she breaks the all-time record for most World Cup wins. 

As reported by The Independent the 33-year-old has taken 82 World Cup victories during her long career, leaving her just four behind Ingemar Stenmark.

She's already the women's record holder and told reporters that is enough to be proud of:

"This is going to be my last season. Definitely retiring after this year.

"If I could break the record that would be amazing, if I can't it has been a great ride, and I am still the most successful female and I still think that's something to be really proud of.

"So we'll just see what happens this year."

She also alluded to her plans post-skiing career on social media:

Per The Independent, Vonn previously said she would not retire until she broke the all-time record of 86 World Cup wins. 

Vonn took five total wins in the 2017-18 campaign, with four coming in the downhill and one in the Super-G. The downhill has always been her top event, resulting in eight world titles between 2008 and 2016. She also won an Olympic gold medal in the event in 2010.

Injuries have slowed her down in recent years, causing her to miss the 2014 Olympics and setting her back in her preparations for the 2018 Games. She managed to win bronze in the downhill but finished well behind Italy's Sofia Goggia, who has become one of the new dominant forces in women's downhill racing. 

The bronze made her the oldest woman to medal in an Olympic alpine skiing event. Vonn won three Olympic medals in total, with another bronze coming in the Super-G in 2010.