Skiing

Skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn is no stranger to making history, and she did so once again Thursday at the 2015 World Cup Finals in Meribel, France.

According to Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk, the 30-year-old American won the super-G title over Anna Fenninger of Austria by .49 of a second, giving her 19 career World Cup season titles.

Per Infostrada Sports, that tied her atop the all-time list with Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark:

#SkiAlpine: It was Vonn's 19th World Cup standings victory in all disciplines, equalling Ingemar Stenmark (1975-1984) for most all-time.

— Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) March 19, 2015

According to Zaccardi, Vonn is very much in the running to surpass Stenmark's all-time overall wins record of 86 as well:

Vonn has 7 wins this season. If she wins 7 each of the next 3 seasons, through 2018 Olympics, she will pass Stenmark's wins record of 86.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) March 18, 2015

Vonn talked about her victory run after the race, per Zaccardi:

"[Fenninger] definitely put a lot of pressure on me," Vonn, who also bagged the downhill title Wednesday, said in a finish-area interview. "I knew she was leading when I was at the top. ... I just attacked, and I had nothing to lose." ...

... "I really like the high-pressure situations," Vonn said. "Sometimes when it demands strong skiing, then I can bring it out."

If Vonn is able to close in on Stenmark over the next three years, she has no intention of retiring anytime soon:

Lindsey Vonn told me 2 months ago that if she's close to Stenmark's wins record after the 2018 season, she plans to keep racing to chase it.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) March 18, 2015

That Vonn is even competing at such a high level is remarkable in and of itself considering her extensive injury history.

In 2014, NBC OlympicTalk detailed her issues over the years. Here are just some of them: 

• 2007 World Championships (season-ending ACL sprain).
• 2009-10 World Cup (swelling and microfractures in left forearm).
• 2010 Olympics (bruised shin and broken pinkie).
• 2013 World Championships (tears of the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments).
• 2013 World Cup (complete ACL tear).

With her latest win, Vonn now has 67 World Cup victories, further extending her own women's record (previous record was 62). Per Zaccardi, Vonn is expected to compete in the giant slalom event on Sunday.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter

Lindsey Vonn has tied a record in winning her 18th and 19th crystal globe in the 2015 World Cup. 

Continue for updates.

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Vonn Ties Stenmark Record With 19th Globe

Thursday, March 19

A day after winning her 18th globe, Vonn tied Ingemar Stenmark's record by winning her 19th crystal globe in the Super G at the 2015 World Cup, according to Nick Zaccardi of Olympic Talk:

Vonn needed to beat Austrian Anna Fenninger to take the crystal globe trophy, and she did so by .49 of a second after Fenninger had previously taken the lead by .71.

Before both of their runs, Vonn was shown on camera among a group of people watching a TV screen as Fenninger stepped to the start gate. Vonn took her run eight minutes after the Austrian.

“[Fenninger] definitely put a lot of pressure on me,” Vonn, who also bagged the downhill title Wednesday, said in a finish-area interview. “I knew she was leading when I was at the top. … I just attacked, and I had nothing to lose.”

Vonn crossed the finish line after one minute of all-out skiing, saw she had overtaken Fenninger, raised her arms, screamed, slid to a stop and fell to the snow, smiling in celebration.

Fenninger, in the leader’s box, clapped politely.

Vonn notched her eighth victory of the season and joined Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark as the only skiers to reach 19 season titles across all disciplines and the overall. She won’t be able to go for No. 20 until next season but is expected to race again in Meribel, in the giant slalom Sunday.

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Vonn Wins 18th Globe

Wednesday, March 18

Lindsey Vonn set two women's records Wednesday when she claimed her seventh downhill championship at the 2015 World Cup and, in doing so, her 18th crystal globe.

Yahoo News captured an image of Vonn holding her trophy:

Congrats @lindseyvonn! Nabs 18th World Cup downhill win after coming back from knee surgery http://t.co/G10EWE2xVg pic.twitter.com/D8OTwwvyWR

— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) March 18, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbum1b40rEk

Following the race, Vonn posted a statement on Instagram:

AFP's Luke Phillips (via Yahoo Sports) noted "the 30-year-old American, herself a former four-time overall champion, laid down a near-perfect descent of the 2.6km-long Roc de Fer piste, clocking 1min 29.87sec to win the 18th globe of her glittering career."  

Fellow skier Mikaela Shiffrin was quick to weigh in on Vonn's victory:

Ohhh say can you seeeeeeeee... Always nice to hear our anthem playing at World Cup races! Nice work @lindseyvonn ! #globe18 #win66

— Mikaela Shiffrin ⛷️ (@MikaelaShiffrin) March 18, 2015

Overall, Vonn's feat is remarkable considering last year she was forced to miss the Olympics in Sochi due to reaggravating her knee.

"It's incredible after being out with two knee operations. It is just amazing to be sitting where I am today," Vonn said, courtesy of The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I'm so proud and happy, and I really have to thank the people that supported me and got me back to where I am now."

It wasn't until December that Vonn returned to the podium, nearly two years since her previous appearance, and she has been extremely impressive over the past three months. She doesn't plan to stop winning and has her sights set on tomorrow's event.

"Vonn will have the chance to equal Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark's record of 19 crystal globes during Thursday's super-G, in which she stands just eight points ahead of Fenninger," relayed Phillips, who also provided a statement from Vonn discussing tomorrow's race:

"I actually built a new trophy case, it has room for 23 globes, so hopefully I have a few more successful years," joked Vonn.

"Tomorrow's super-G is another chance for another globe and it's going to be tough. Anna's skiing really well, it's going to be soft conditions like it was today. But there's something about this track that really suits me.

"I'm going to give it everything I have, just like I do every day, and hopefully come out on top again."

Vonn remains one of the more polarizing figures in all of sports. Her determination is admirable, but it is her sheer skills that leaves fans in awe. Skiing doesn't receive its due share from the majority of sports fans, but skiers of Vonn's caliber prove it's an event to behold. Vonn continues to dominate at an impressive rate, and putting her stamp on the sport with two records is an achievement sports fans should take the time to celebrate. 

“I don’t know what the future is; I’m just going to keep trying to win as many races as I can,” said Vonn, who won six successive downhill titles from 2008 to 2013, per Bill Pennington of the New York Times. “I’m trying to win as many globes as I can. I’m just going to keep going.” 

Lindsey Vonn's return to the World Championships has produced at least one more medal for the decorated American star.

She's racing on her hometown slopes in Vail, Colorado just two years after suffering a horrific knee injury at the 2013 World Championships.

Ladies Giant Slalom: Run 2 (Feb. 12)

Vonn's disappointing opening run in the giant slalom kept her out of contention for a medal. But to her credit, Vonn's second run was excellent, as the star had the fifth-best time in the evening session and finished 14th overall. 

Anna Fenninger won the event, with Viktoria Rebensburg coming in second and Jessica Lindell-Vikarby finishing third. You can see the full results below.

Rank	Name	Run 1	RK1	Run 2	RK2	Total	DIFF
1	FENNINGER Anna	1:08.98	1	+0.30	2	2:19.16
2	REBENSBURG Viktoria	+1.70	11	1:09.88	1	2:20.56	+1.40
3	LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica	+0.90	3	+0.89	6	2:20.65	+1.49
4	WEIRATHER Tina	+1.35	5	+0.50	3	2:20.71	+1.55
5	MAZE Tina	+1.10	4	+0.94	7	2:20.90	+1.74
6	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	+0.81	2	+1.24	11	2:20.91	+1.75
7	ZETTEL Kathrin	+1.72	13	+0.73	4	2:21.31	+2.15
8	SHIFFRIN Mikaela	+1.72	13	+1.05	9	2:21.63	+2.47
9	PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria	+1.65	9	+1.33	12	2:21.84	+2.68
10	HECTOR Sara	+1.69	10	+1.41	13	2:21.96	+2.80
11	LOESETH Nina	+1.40	6	+1.73	21	2:21.99	+2.83
12	HANSDOTTER Frida	+1.71	12	+1.57	17	2:22.14	+2.98
13	WORLEY Tessa	+2.40	20	+1.01	8	2:22.27	+3.11
14	VONN Lindsey	+2.67	27	+0.85	5	2:22.38	+3.22
15	BAUD Adeline	+2.39	19	+1.18	10	2:22.43	+3.27
16	FANCHINI Nadia	+2.32	18	+1.45	16	2:22.63	+3.47
17	HOLDENER Wendy	+1.99	15	+1.85	24	2:22.70	+3.54
18	MOWINCKEL Ragnhild	+2.54	23	+1.41	13	2:22.81	+3.65
19	GISIN Dominique	+2.59	26	+1.43	15	2:22.88	+3.72
20	MOELGG Manuela	+2.20	16	+1.89	25	2:22.95	+3.79
21	LAVTAR Katarina	+2.41	21	+1.72	20	2:22.99	+3.83
22	TOMMY Mikaela	+2.56	24	+1.67	19	2:23.09	+3.93
23	GAGNON Marie-Michele	+2.56	24	+1.75	22	2:23.17	+4.01
24	DREV Ana	+2.44	22	+2.04	28	2:23.34	+4.18
25	STUHEC Ilka	+2.69	28	+2.00	27	2:23.55	+4.39
26	MANCUSO Julia	+2.83	29	+2.10	29	2:23.79	+4.63
27	PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier	+3.65	31	+1.63	18	2:24.14	+4.98
28	HASEGAWA Emi	+3.51	30	+1.97	26	2:24.34	+5.18
29	CRAWFORD Candace	+3.84	34	+1.75	22	2:24.45	+5.29
30	VLHOVA Petra	+4.00	35	+2.83	31	2:25.69	+6.53
31	SOPPELA Merle	+3.81	33	+3.05	32	2:25.72	+6.56
32	GISIN Michelle	+3.71	32	+3.52	34	2:26.09	+6.93
33	ROMANOVA Anastasia	+4.59	37	+2.74	30	2:26.19	+7.03
34	MCJAMES Megan	+4.60	38	+3.39	33	2:26.85	+7.69
35	TILLEY Alexandra	+4.63	39	+3.57	35	2:27.06	+7.90
36	SMALL Greta	+4.18	36	+4.34	40	2:27.38	+8.22
37	POPOVIC Leona	+4.74	40	+3.97	38	2:27.57	+8.41
38	MISAK Iva	+4.87	41	+4.03	39	2:27.76	+8.60
38	GASIENICA-DANIEL Maryna	+5.07	44	+3.83	37	2:27.76	+8.60
40	MIKLOS Edit	+5.45	45	+3.59	36	2:27.90	+8.74
41	KIRKOVA Maria	+4.92	43	+4.43	41	2:28.21	+9.05
42	IGNJATOVIC Nevena	+4.88	42	+4.69	45	2:28.43	+9.27
43	GUEST Charlotte	+6.29	47	+4.59	43	2:29.74	+10.58
44	KOMSIC Andrea	+6.45	49	+4.68	44	2:29.99	+10.83
45	CHRYSTAL Lavinia	+6.56	50	+5.26	46	2:30.68	+11.52
46	BANCORA Salome	+5.56	46	+6.53	51	2:30.95	+11.79
47	SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen	+7.28	55	+5.38	47	2:31.52	+12.36
47	BARAHONA Noelle	+6.79	53	+5.87	48	2:31.52	+12.36
49	MATSOTSKA Bogdana	+6.33	48	+6.40	50	2:31.59	+12.43
50	SCHLEPER Sarah	+8.36	57	+4.51	42	2:31.73	+12.57
51	SIMARI BIRKNER Angelica	+6.70	51	+7.26	53	2:32.82	+13.66
52	TRSINSKI Sasa	+7.13	54	+6.89	52	2:32.88	+13.72
53	NOVAKOVIC Zana	+7.95	56	+6.18	49	2:32.99	+13.83
54	CAILL Ania Monica	+8.56	58	+7.52	54	2:34.94	+15.78
55	CAPOVA Gabriela	+8.75	59	+7.74	55	2:35.35	+16.19
56	VILHJALMSDOTTIR Helga Maria	+8.88	60	+7.80	56	2:35.54	+16.38
DNF	ROVE Kristiina	+6.70	51	-	-	-	+6.70
DNF	PAULATHOVA Katerina	+2.21	17	-	-	-	+2.21
DNF	BARIOZ Taina	+1.52	7	-	-	-	+1.52
DNF	BASSINO Marta	+1.53	8	-	-	-	+1.53

Vonn spoke of her performance after the race, via NBC Sports.

Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk put her impressive second run into perspective:

Lindsey Vonn, who never before finished a GS at Worlds/Olympics, skied .20 faster than Shiffrin in Run 2. Shiffrin is No. 3 in GS World Cup.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 12, 2015

And so Vonn's World Championships comes to a close with a single medal, the bronze in the super G. Surely she would have preferred to have earned more hardware in her time at Vail, but the fact that she competed in several events she hasn't raced in several years and really impressed in her second run on Thursday shouldn't go ignored. 

Ladies Giant Slalom: Run 1 (Feb. 12)

Vonn's chances of earning a second medal at the World Championships ended with her first run in the giant slalom on Thursday, as she found herself in 27th place with a time of 1:11.65.

Anna Fenninger was in first place after the first run, with Michaela Kirchgasser in second and Jessica Lindell -Vikarby in third. Tina Maze, who has been excellent at the World Championships, is lurking in fourth. 

Here are the full results.

Rank	Name	Time	Differential
1	FENNINGER Anna	1:08.98	-
2	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	1:09.79	+0.81
3	LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica	1:09.88	+0.90
4	MAZE Tina	1:10.08	+1.10
5	WEIRATHER Tina	1:10.33	+1.35
6	LOESETH Nina	1:10.38	+1.40
7	BARIOZ Taina	1:10.50	+1.52
8	BASSINO Marta	1:10.51	+1.53
9	PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria	1:10.63	+1.65
10	HECTOR Sara	1:10.67	+1.69
11	REBENSBURG Viktoria	1:10.68	+1.70
12	HANSDOTTER Frida	1:10.69	+1.71
13	ZETTEL Kathrin	1:10.70	+1.72
13	SHIFFRIN Mikaela	1:10.70	+1.72
15	HOLDENER Wendy	1:10.97	+1.99
16	MOELGG Manuela	1:11.18	+2.20
17	PAULATHOVA Katerina	1:11.19	+2.21
18	FANCHINI Nadia	1:11.30	+2.32
19	BAUD Adeline	1:11.37	+2.39
20	WORLEY Tessa	1:11.38	+2.40
21	LAVTAR Katarina	1:11.39	+2.41
22	DREV Ana	1:11.42	+2.44
23	MOWINCKEL Ragnhild	1:11.52	+2.54
24	TOMMY Mikaela	1:11.54	+2.56
24	GAGNON Marie-Michele	1:11.54	+2.56
26	GISIN Dominique	1:11.57	+2.59
27	VONN Lindsey	1:11.65	+2.67
28	STUHEC Ilka	1:11.67	+2.69
29	MANCUSO Julia	1:11.81	+2.83
30	HASEGAWA Emi	1:12.49	+3.51
31	PREFONTAINE Marie-Pier	1:12.63	+3.65
32	GISIN Michelle	1:12.69	+3.71
33	SOPPELA Merle	1:12.79	+3.81
34	CRAWFORD Candace	1:12.82	+3.84
35	VLHOVA Petra	1:12.98	+4.00
36	SMALL Greta	1:13.16	+4.18
37	ROMANOVA Anastasia	1:13.57	+4.59
38	MCJAMES Megan	1:13.58	+4.60
39	TILLEY Alexandra	1:13.61	+4.63
40	POPOVIC Leona	1:13.72	+4.74
41	MISAK Iva	1:13.85	+4.87
42	IGNJATOVIC Nevena	1:13.86	+4.88
43	KIRKOVA Maria	1:13.90	+4.92
44	GASIENICA-DANIEL Maryna	1:14.05	+5.07
45	MIKLOS Edit	1:14.43	+5.45
46	BANCORA Salome	1:14.54	+5.56
47	GUEST Charlotte	1:15.27	+6.29
48	MATSOTSKA Bogdana	1:15.31	+6.33
49	KOMSIC Andrea	1:15.43	+6.45
50	CHRYSTAL Lavinia	1:15.54	+6.56
51	SIMARI BIRKNER Angelica	1:15.68	+6.70
51	ROVE Kristiina	1:15.68	+6.70
53	BARAHONA Noelle	1:15.77	+6.79
54	TRSINSKI Sasa	1:16.11	+7.13
55	SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen	1:16.26	+7.28
56	NOVAKOVIC Zana	1:16.93	+7.95
57	SCHLEPER Sarah	1:17.34	+8.36
58	CAILL Ania Monica	1:17.54	+8.56
59	CAPOVA Gabriela	1:17.73	+8.75
60	VILHJALMSDOTTIR Helga Maria	1:17.86	+8.88
61	GASTALDI Nicol	1:18.01	+9.03
62	EINARSDOTTIR Freydis Halla	1:18.14	+9.16
63	TSIKLAURI Nino	1:18.23	+9.25
64	NELLES Mathilde	1:18.35	+9.37
65	MOE-LANGE Yina	1:18.66	+9.68
66	TIKUN Tetyana	1:18.88	+9.90
67	ABOLTINA Agnese	1:18.94	+9.96
68	GASUNA Evelina	1:19.68	+10.70
69	ARBEZ Tess	1:20.75	+11.77
70	KNYSH Olha	1:21.13	+12.15
71	ASGEIRSDOTTIR Erla	1:22.08	+13.10
72	BERECZ Anna	1:22.48	+13.50
73	HALILOVIC Amira	1:22.95	+13.97
74	OETTL REYES Ornella	1:22.99	+14.01
75	PELLEGRIN Elise	1:23.17	+14.19
76	MEHILLI Suela	1:24.27	+15.29
77	BONDARE Liene	1:24.35	+15.37
78	PFINGSTHORN Magdalena	1:24.46	+15.48
79	XIA Lina	1:24.50	+15.52
80	BUCHLER Gitit	1:24.73	+15.75
81	BERTHELSEN Nuunu Chemnitz	1:25.64	+16.66
82	BELL Florence	1:27.21	+18.23
83	MAROTY Monika	1:27.58	+18.60
84	SAMARINOU Maria	1:27.67	+18.69
85	GKOGKOU Anastasia	1:27.74	+18.76
86	RALLI Sophia	1:28.01	+19.03
87	MOE Lisa Christine Blunck	1:29.50	+20.52
88	QIN Xiyue	1:30.00	+21.02
89	KOKKINI Anastasia	1:30.24	+21.26
90	NASSAR Lea	1:30.79	+21.81
91	PALIUTKINA Olga	1:31.10	+22.12
92	HADDAD Yasma	1:34.08	+25.10
93	KEIROUZ Celine	1:37.90	+28.92
94	THAKUR Aanchal	1:42.79	+33.81
95	DEVI Varsha	2:02.51	+53.53
DNS	WU Meng-Chien	-	-
DNS	JANKOVIC Masa	-	-
DNS	HUDSON Piera	-	-
DNF	MANDIC Nina	-	-
DNF	MOHBAT Natacha	-	-
DNF	CSIMA Reka	-	-
DNF	JANUSKEVICIUTE Ieva	-	-
DNF	VICUNA Josefina	-	-
DNF	KIEK Ronnie	-	-
DNF	MERDANOVIC Sejla	-	-
DNF	HARRISSON Maya	-	-
DNF	BRIGNONE Federica	-	-
DNF	MARMOTTAN Anemone	-	-
DNF	GUT Lara	-	-
DNF	BREM Eva-Maria	-	-
DSQ	BARANOVA Tatjana	-	-
DSQ	BULATOVIC Ivana	-	-
DSQ	ELVINGER Catherine	-	-
DSQ	GRIGOREVA Kseniya	-	-
DSQ	GASUNA Lelde	-	-

After the race, Vonn tried to keep things in perspective, via Kami Carmann of Fox 31 of Denver:

Vonn says she is happy with Bronze, tried her best but World Championships are tough. #Vail2015 pic.twitter.com/viDkp3iR8g

— Kami Carmann (@KamiCarmann) February 12, 2015

Of course, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Vonn wouldn't medal in this event based on her past, as Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk tweeted:

Keep in mind w/Lindsey Vonn. Her last 5 World Cup giant slaloms from 2012-13 season -- Win-DNF1-27th-21st-DNF2 after 12th in first run.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 12, 2015

But hey, there was one positive for Vonn on Thursday—Tiger Woods, fresh off of announcing he would be taking a leave from golf, showed up to support her, per Universal Sports on Twitter:

Tiger Woods is at the #Vail2015 World Championships to support @lindseyvonn pic.twitter.com/0VvEBnAJxj

— NBC OlympicTalk (@NBCOlympicTalk) February 12, 2015

And so Vonn will prepare for her second run, well aware of the fact that she won't be medaling or finishing anywhere near the podium. A strong showing in the second run might at least take a bit of the sting out of what has ultimately been a pretty disappointing World Championships for her.

Ladies Alpine Combined: Slalom (Feb. 9) 

Vonn's first leg of the Ladies Alpine Combined got off to a rough start in the downhill competition. Things only got worse for Vonn during the slalom, as she straddled a gate and was disqualified from the competition.

Afterwards, a visibly emotional Vonn spoke about her disappointing result during the NBCSN broadcast, via Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk:

I’m just really disappointed. It’s a hometown World Championships, and I really tried as hard as I could. I came up short, and that’s disappointing for myself, for my family and for my fans. I just didn’t figure out this hill at all. I’m disappointed today because I actually skied really good slalom the last two days [in training]. I thought I had a chance at getting a medal.

Unfortunately, the combined competition has been her Achilles heel, as Zaccardi tweeted:

Lindsey Vonn in Olympics/Worlds combined:

2002-6th
2005-4th
2006-DNF
2007-DNF
2009-DNF
2010-DNF
2011-DNF
2015-DNF

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 9, 2015

To be fair to Vonn, she hasn't competed in this event since December of 2012, so a bit of rust is hardly unexpected.

While Vonn's Worlds continued to sour, Tina Maze's kept getting better, as she won the event and medaled for the third time. Nicole Hosp finished with a silver and Michaela Kirchgasser took the bronze. Here are the full results:

Rank	Name	Run 1	Rk1	Run 2	Rk2	Total	Differential
1	MAZE Tina	1:45.25	1	+0.98	5	2:33.37	-
2	HOSP Nicole	+0.90	4	+0.30	2	2:33.59	+0.22
3	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	+1.33	8	47.14	1	2:33.72	+0.35
4	FENNINGER Anna	+0.26	3	+1.61	6	2:34.26	+0.89
5	GUT Lara	+0.02	2	+1.90	7	2:34.31	+0.94
6	ZETTEL Kathrin	+1.75	11	+0.87	4	2:35.01	+1.64
7	STUHEC Ilka	+1.14	6	+2.27	11	2:35.80	+2.43
8	MARSAGLIA Francesca	+1.40	9	+2.17	10	2:35.96	+2.59
9	MOWINCKEL Ragnhild	+1.07	5	+2.52	14	2:35.98	+2.61
10	BAILET Margot	+2.24	14	+1.96	8	2:36.59	+3.22
11	BUCIK Ana	+4.76	23	+0.62	3	2:37.77	+4.40
12	BRODNIK Vanja	+3.01	19	+2.50	13	2:37.90	+4.53
13	HRONEK Veronique	+2.06	12	+3.46	17	2:37.91	+4.54
14	ROSS Laurenne	+1.46	10	+4.16	20	2:38.01	+4.64
15	MANCUSO Julia	+2.67	16	+2.96	15	2:38.02	+4.65
16	FANCHINI Elena	+2.31	15	+4.14	19	2:38.84	+5.47
17	WILES Jacqueline	+2.88	17	+3.81	18	2:39.08	+5.71
18	SMALL Greta	+3.76	22	+3.24	16	2:39.39	+6.02
19	KOMSIC Andrea	+6.60	25	+2.29	12	2:41.28	+7.91
20	KRIZOVA Klara	+3.44	21	+5.70	22	2:41.53	+8.16
21	SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena	+7.42	26	+1.97	9	2:41.78	+8.41
22	BARAHONA Noelle	+6.07	24	+4.48	21	2:42.94	+9.57
DNS	SCHNARF Johanna	+3.28	20	-	-	-	-
DNF	TVIBERG Maria Therese	+2.09	13	-	-	-	-
DNF	VONN Lindsey	+1.31	7	-	-	-	-
DNF	NUFER Priska	+2.97	18	-	-	-	-

All is not lost for Vonn, of course, as she still has the giant slalom on Thursday to make up for a few rough races. Despite talking of knee soreness earlier on Monday, she seems to be gunning for the giant slalom.

“I have one more chance in the GS, and I’ll do my best there,” she said after the race, via Zaccardi. “A lot of expectations, and I tried my best to live up to them, but I just didn’t.”

It would certainly be disappointing for Vonn if she only came away from this competition with a bronze medal. Expect a focused and perhaps even angry Vonn when she hits the slopes on Thursday.

Ladies Alpine Combined: Downhill (Feb. 9) 

Vonn found herself in danger of not medaling in the Ladies Alpine Combine after the downhill portion of the competition, as she finished in seventh place with a time of 1:46.56. Tina Maze topped the leaderboard after the first half of the event with a time of 1:45.25, while Lara Gut was second overall and Anna Fenninger was third.

Here are the full results from the downhill portion:

Rank	Name	Time	Differential
1	MAZE Tina	1:45.25	-
2	GUT Lara	1:45.27	+0.02
3	FENNINGER Anna	1:45.51	+0.26
4	HOSP Nicole	1:46.15	+0.90
5	MOWINCKEL Ragnhild	1:46.32	+1.07
6	STUHEC Ilka	1:46.39	+1.14
7	VONN Lindsey	1:46.56	+1.31
8	KIRCHGASSER Michaela	1:46.58	+1.33
9	MARSAGLIA Francesca	1:46.65	+1.40
10	ROSS Laurenne	1:46.71	+1.46
11	ZETTEL Kathrin	1:47.00	+1.75
12	HRONEK Veronique	1:47.31	+2.06
13	TVIBERG Maria Therese	1:47.34	+2.09
14	BAILET Margot	1:47.49	+2.24
15	FANCHINI Elena	1:47.56	+2.31
16	MIKLOS Edit	1:47.76	+2.51
17	MANCUSO Julia	1:47.92	+2.67
18	WILES Jacqueline	1:48.13	+2.88
19	NUFER Priska	1:48.22	+2.97
20	BRODNIK Vanja	1:48.26	+3.01
21	SCHNARF Johanna	1:48.53	+3.28
22	KRIZOVA Klara	1:48.69	+3.44
23	SMALL Greta	1:49.01	+3.76
24	BUCIK Ana	1:50.01	+4.76
25	BARAHONA Noelle	1:51.32	+6.07
26	KOMSIC Andrea	1:51.85	+6.60
27	SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena	1:52.67	+7.42
DNF	COLETTI Alexandra	-	-
DNF	POPOVIC Leona	-	-
DNF	GRENIER Valerie	-	-
DNF	GAGNON Marie-Michele	-	-
DNF	CURTONI Elena	-	-

As though Vonn's fairly large deficit didn't hurt her enough, she also noted that she wasn't 100 percent after the race, per Nick Zaccardi of NBC OlympicTalk:

Lindsey Vonn on Universal Sports: "This ice just doesn't really feel good on my knee. It's pretty sore."

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 9, 2015

In fact, Zaccardi didn't even expect her to finish the event:

@Golfweek_Dusek I'd bet she won't run the slalom.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 9, 2015

That would certainly add another disappointment to what has been a less than stellar competition for Vonn, who has nabbed a bronze and a fifth-place finish to this point. Surely, she would have loved to medal in this event.

But with a medal unlikely after her downhill run and the conditions not aiding her sore knee, it might be prudent for Vonn to withdraw from the event and live to fight another day, so to speak.

Ladies' Downhill (Feb. 6)

Vonn failed to match her Super G success in the ladies' downhill. She's got off to a strong start but lost too much speed in the middle of the course and couldn't make up for it. Tina Maze of Slovenia picked up the gold medal.

Anna Fenninger of Austria and Lara Gut of Switzerland will join Maze on the podium by earning silver and bronze, respectively. Vonn finished fifth. She was the top American on the final leaderboard.

Here's the complete list of results via the event's official site:

Rank	Name	Country	Time	Difference
1	Tina Maze	Slovenia	1:45.89	-
2	Anna Fenninger	Austria	1:45.91	+0.02
3	Lara Gut	Switzerland	1:46.23	+0.34
4	Nicole Schmidhofer	Austria	1:46.92	+1.03
5	Lindsey Vonn	United States	1:46.94	+1.05
6	Elisabeth Gorgl	Austria	1:46.95	+1.06
7	Nadja Jnglin-Kamer	Switzerland	1:46.97	+1.08
8	Daniela Merighetti	Italy	1:47.14	+1.25
9	Fabienne Suter	Switzerland	1:47.18	+1.29
10	Viktoria Rebensburg	Germany	1:47.24	+1.35
11	Tina Weirather	Liechtenstein	1:47.27	+1.38
12	Nadia Fanchini	Italy	1:47.34	+1.45
13	Edit Miklos	Hungary	1:47.53	+1.64
14	Larisa Yurkiw	Canada	1:47.65	+1.76
15	Cornelia Hutter	Austria	1:47.87	+1.98
16	Julia Mancuso	United States	1:47.93	+2.04
17	Laurenne Ross	United States	1:47.95	+2.06
18	Kajsa Kling	Sweden	1:47.99	+2.10
19	Stacey Cook	United States	1:48.05	+2.16
20	Ilka Stuhec	Slovenia	1:48.06	+2.17
21	Alexandra Coletti	Monaco	1:48.07	+2.18
21	Margot Bailet	France	1:48.07	+2.18
23	Carolina Ruiz Castillo	Spain	1:48.27	+2.38
24	Jennifer Piot	France	1:48.34	+2.45
25	Ragnhild Mowinckel	Norway	1:48.54	+2.65
26	Elena Fanchini	Italy	1:48.72	+2.83
27	Maria Therese Tviberg	Norway	1:48.78	+2.89
28	Johanna Schnarf	Italy	1:48.80	+2.91
29	Marianne Abderhalden	Switzerland	1:48.82	+2.93
30	Vanja Brodnik	Slovenia	1:49.55	+3.66
31	Veronique Hronek	Germany	1:50.43	+4.54
32	Klara Krizova	Czech Republic	1:50.79	+4.90
33	Greta Small	Australia	1:51.97	+6.08
34	Macarena Simari Birkner	Argentina	1:53.18	+7.29
35	Noelle Barahona	Chile	1:53.77	+7.88
36	Leona Popovic	Croatia	1:53.88	+7.99
37	Andrea Komsic	Croatia	1:54.00	+8.11
T-38	Marie Marchand-Arvier	France	DNF	-
T-38	Valerie Grenier	Canada	DNF	-

Nick Zaccardi of NBC Olympic Talk notes it's the worst downhill result of Vonn's World Championship career and marks the first time she didn't medal when participating since 2005:

Lindsey Vonn's results in World Championships downhills:

2005: 4th
2007: Silver
2009: Gold
2011: Silver
2015: 5th at best

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 6, 2015

Jeff Todd of CBS Denver passed along a Vine to show the local crowd supporting her despite the lackluster result by her incredibly high standards:

Vonn still gets a huge cheer from the crowd. Currently in 5th #Vail2015 https://t.co/mNLWXTo4XC

— Jeff Todd (@JeffToddReports) February 6, 2015

Vonn looked like a serious contender for gold early in the run. She matched Maze's first interval and was five-hundredths of a second ahead at the second checkpoint. She slowly faded out of contention from there, however, ending over a second off the pace.

The American simply couldn't maintain that early speed through the middle stages. And once a skier starts to fall behind it's incredibly difficult to get back in a groove quick enough to rebound, especially at this level of competition.

Zaccardi provided post-race comments Vonn made on the NBC Sports Network. She said the feeling just wasn't there on Friday.

"I didn't have the greatest feeling on the snow, couldn't get things going," Vonn said. "It's unfortunate. I wish I could have done better today for the hometown crowd."

Ultimately, the result shows that despite her strong showing in the Super G on Tuesday there's still work left to do. She's not quite back in top, pre-injury form yet and that's what it usually takes to win in the World Championships.

The men are set to take center stage at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado over the weekend. They are scheduled to have the downhill competition on Saturday followed by the both parts of the Alpine Combined event on Sunday.

The ladies will next race for medals on Monday with the Alpine Combined. Vonn's lack of slalom runs in recent years probably means expectations should kept within reason for that event. It will still be interesting to see how she responds after coming up short in the downhill, though.

Her track record suggests she's a contender every time she takes to the slopes.

Ladies' Super G (Feb. 3)

The official Twitter feed for the Beaver Creek Resort provided a look at the leaderboard: 

#vail2015 partial results after 30 racers:: @annafenninger (AUT), @TinaMaze (SLO), and @lindseyvonn (USA) pic.twitter.com/3yR6kmd2Yi

— Xfinity Birds of Prey (@bcworldcup) February 3, 2015

A bronze medal may not be what Vonn was hoping for after she won five of her first 10 races in her return from injury. But her sixth World Championships medal puts her in a special place among American skiiers, as NBC's Nick Zaccardi pointed out:

World Championships career medals:

Lindsey Vonn -- 6
Bode Miller -- 5
Julia Mancuso -- 5
Ted Ligety -- 5

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 3, 2015

Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports notes this is her first medal for a major championship in four years:

Lindsey Vonn won her first major championship medal in four years, bronze in the World Championships super-G behind Austrian Anna Fenninger, who followed her Olympic title with Worlds gold.

Vonn's run epitomized her last two resilient years. 

Battling some intense winds at the top of the hill, a slow start out of the gates had her trailing surprise leader Cornelia Huetter by 0.28 and 0.42 seconds after the first two splits. Seemingly out of contention, she responded with a blazing finish down the mountain. She was only .03 seconds behind Huetter after the third split, and by the time she crossed the finish line, she was in first place.

Vonn later commented on the imperfect conditions, via 9news.com's Cheryl Preheim: 

Vonn on wind: "That is ridiculous. It's unfortunate for a world championship event to deal with that." Wins bronze #Vail2015 #9news

— Cheryl Preheim (@CherylPreheim) February 3, 2015

The 30-year-old will surely be left wondering what could have been if the weather was better, but it was still some very good skiing down the stretch. Unsurprisingly, her hometown Vail crowd was worked into a frenzy after the impressive run: 

Ecstasy quickly turned to disappointment, though, as Maze beat Vonn's time on the very next run, moving the latter into second place. 

As Zaccardi noted, it was the battle many were expecting to see in 2013 before Vonn went down with the injury and the Slovenian went on to capture gold: 

How about that. Tina Maze and Lindsey Vonn, the rivalry we anticipated for this race in 2013.

— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) February 3, 2015

Three skiiers later, Fenninger moved into a first, which is where she would remain. After conquering the world in Sochi, the 25-year-old Austrian is the first woman to win back-to-back Super-G titles at the Olympics and World Championships, per Zaccardi. 

For Vonn, the third-place finish may leave a slightly bitter taste in her mouth, simply because she left so much time to make up during the first half of the race. 

But with seven podiums in 11 races, she continues to prove her injury is having no effect on her, both mentally and physically. The 2018 Olympics are still very far in the distance, and Maze and Fenninger are two adversaries who aren't going away, but Vonn clearly remains among the world's best. 

Lindsey Vonn was forced to miss the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia due to a knee injury, but it appears as if the skiing star is ready to ski in the FIS Alpine World Cup.

Continue for updates.

Friday, Dec. 5

Vonn Finishes Fourth at FIS Alpine World Cup

Vonn finished fourth at the FIS Alpine World Cup in her first race since returning from a knee injury. Universal Sports provided highlights of the race:

Thursday, Nov. 6

Vonn Making Faster Recovery Than Expected

Lindsey Vonn could return to action quicker than expected according to Nick Zaccardi of NBC's Olympic Talk:

Lindsey Vonn could return to competition one week earlier than expected.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion is giving serious thought to skiing at the World Cup stop in Aspen, Colo., on Thanksgiving weekend but also called it “a long shot,” according to The Associated Press.

The World Cup races in Aspen in three weeks are a giant slalom and a slalom, technical events in which Vonn doesn’t have as much recent success as the speed events of downhill and super-G.

Thursday, Oct. 23

Vonn Suffers Knee Injury

USA Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn was forced to miss the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, due to a knee injury. Now the 30-year-old star is gearing up for a return to competition, having been back on the slopes for three weeks.

John Meyer of the Denver Post reported the latest details on Vonn's impending comeback on Wednesday, along with what Vonn had to say about her recovery process and more.

Everything is going really well. The knee feels really good. With the meniscus stuff, I expected something to go wrong or there would be a setback of some sort, but there wasn't anything. It was great the whole time. I didn't have any pain, didn't have any swelling. It was quite a bit better than I expected.

Vonn won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games in the women's downhill and a bronze in the super-G, but her bid to make an appearance in Sochi was derailed by a torn ACL and MCL at the 2013 world championships.

She then needed a second surgery on the ACL and suffered meniscus damage in a crash that occurred in November 2013 (h/t the Associated Press, via ESPN.com). It has been a long road back, and one that Vonn has had a tough time enduring, per Meyer:

Because I haven't really competed in two years, and that's a quite unusual for me — I've been competing since I was 9 years old — it's been frustrating for sure. I'm ready to be racing again, I'm excited for this season. I had heard a couple of interviews where other girls had expected me to retire, and that's just not what's going to happen. I'm very fired up for this season and I'm looking forward to being back in the starting gate and being aggressive again.

According to Meyer's report, Vonn is slated to make her official return on December 5 in the downhill and super-G events in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. It will be interesting to see whether she can knock off the rust and trust her knee to hold up amid the heat of competition.

The 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, are still far off in the distance. However, Vonn appears determined to make it there, even though she will be 34 years old once they're underway.

One of the highlights from Day 4 of the Winter Olympics saw the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle competition come to a head in Sochi, Russia.

Canada's Dara Howell took gold in the first-ever female final, a historic occasion for every participant involved. 

Howell ruled with an untouchable first-run score of 94.20, nearly 10 points head of the competition.

The Ontario-born star added Canada's fourth gold of the Games in difficult conditions. The Russian snow appeared to be a little bumpy and not as smooth as it could be, limiting speed as the session warmed up.

American Devin Logan followed Howell's lead to take silver, while Canada racked up another medal with Kim Lamarre's bronze, which she captured on her second run.

Here's a look at the full results:

Position	Name	Country	Best Score
Gold	Dara Howell	Canada	94.20
Silver	Devin Logan	USA	85.40
Bronze	Kim Lamarre	Canada	85.00
4	Anna Segal	Australia	77.00
5	Emma Dahlstrom	Sweden	75.40
6	Yuki Tsubota	Canada	71.60
7	Katie Summerhayes	Great Britain	70.60
8	Silvia Bertagna	Italy	69.60
9	Eveline Bhend	Switzerland	63.20
10	Keri Herman	USA	50.00
11	Julia Krass	USA	42.40
12	Camillia Berra	Switzerland	30.40

It wasn't all good news for the Canadian team, who had to watch on as Yuki Tsubota suffered a heavy fall during her second run, reported by Bruce Arthur of the National Post:

Kaya Turski failed to make the final for Team Canada, but her droves of support summed up a camp that is looking to top the medals table at the end of the Games:

The difficult conditions ensured many competitors appeared extremely tired after a morning of qualifying.

Much of the course's speed had vanished once the second runs of the final occurred, lending to a handful of disappointing performances from those who chased Howell's initiative.

Although there were a number of falls, Tsubota's rough landing rightfully had onlookers concerned.

USA Today's Kelly Whiteside suggested the slew of underwhelming performances may be down to a selection of injuries prior to the event:

Great Britain's Kelly Summerhayes tried to challenge the top three with two ambitious runs, but after failing to land her final trick during the opener, she was punished for scraping her hands in the second.

Summerhayes' ambition was met by Australian Anna Segal, who was pushed out of the medal positions by Lamarre, the penultimate rider.

Howell was the last person to complete her second run and enjoyed a lap of honour to see in her triumph.

At the age of 19, Howell's gold medal could be the first of many. She will only be 23 when the South Korean Winter Olympics arrive in 2018, suggesting Canada could have a future legend in the making.

The same can be said for Summerhayes, who showed real guts to look for huge tricks from the off. She is just 18 years old and already looks to be developing into an aggressive, risk-taking contender ahead of her next appearance.

It is thrilling to see young competitors leading the way at the onset of a new era for women's slopestyle skiing.

American downhill skier Julia Mancuso comes into the 2014 Olympic Games on a cold streak.

However, history suggests she could be a force to be reckoned with once the action starts in earnest if she can put her recent past behind her. 

Mancuso failed to reach the podium in any World Cup event leading up to the Games. She's only registered three top-10 finishes, and her highest finish this season was seventh place, according to David Leon Moore of USA Today. 

Her season got off on the wrong foot with a horrible start at Beaver Creek where her best finish out of the events was 20th place. From there, her season spiraled.

"I let it get in my head and then I started making bad decisions," she said, via Moore. "Every race, it was something different. I was always questioning. I was never confident. Skiing's mental. It's a mental game up there. A lot of us know how to ski. Every single girl in the start gate can ski well, especially in the top group. It's about being mentally prepared and confident."

Yet this is the same woman who won three medals the past two Games, taking gold in the giant slalom in 2006 and silver in both the downhill and combined races. 

Incredibly, Mancuso flew under the radar before both Games, while stars like Lindsay Vonn and Picabo Street garnered nonstop media attention. Yet when the dust settled, she had more success than either of them. 

She's already the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, and the Squaw Valley, Calif., native has another chance to cement her legacy as the greatest female winter Olympian in U.S. history with another medal in 2014. 

And as poor as her World Cup season has been—one of her worst ever—Mancuso appears to be on the verge of capturing her Olympic inspiration. U.S. ski team press officer Doug Haney elaborates:

Interestingly, the conditions could play a big role in any potential success. 

“I know the kind of snow where I’ve done well, and this is definitely that snow,” Mancuso said, via Tim Layden of SI.com. “And I really like how I’m skiing right now.”

Confidence is a funny thing. 

Athletes oftentimes go for what feels like aeons without it, struggling against themselves just as much as their competitors and their surroundings—much like what Mancuso has dealt with the past season. 

Then, suddenly, and sometimes for what seems to be no good reason, it returns. And once that confidence returns, that athlete's natural abilities are allowed to shine through. 

For Mancuso, it appears her confidence has returned. And given the way she's performed on the world's biggest stage in the past, nobody should be surprised if she shrugs off her recent failures in favor of a podium finish. 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 

You train your entire life for this moment.

Every early morning workout, pulled muscle and weekend spent competing builds up to this: The chance to take home a medal in the sport you’ve made your life.

Heidi Kloser did all those things but will not be competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics after suffering a terrible accident in Sochi on Thursday,

Kloser, an American mogul skier, was participating in a warmup run before the first round of qualifiers when she went down hard on the course.

According to Linsday H. Jones of USA Today Sports, fellow skiers knew a serious accident had occurred when race officials hurried to shut down the course. 

“Next thing I know, they closed the course,” said Hannah Kearney, a former gold medal winner in the mogul.

The team’s fears were confirmed when the 21-year-old skier was taken via ambulance to an emergency room for X-rays and an MRI. 

According to Mike Foss of For The Win, Kloser’s father, Mike Kloser, was on hand in Sochi with other members of the Kloser family. Mike later posted a heartbreaking Facebook message updating fans and friends on her condition.

Mike wrote that Heidi had suffered a partially torn MCL, fully torn ACL, an impact fracture on her femur and a bruise on her tibia plateau. Worse than the injury itself were the words of his daughter, who asked her father if she could still consider herself a U.S. Olympian.

When she was in the ambulance, she asked if she was still an Olympian…We said of course she is…Thanks for all the support we have already received from so many of you. We LOVE you HEIDI!!!!

Indeed, just getting to the Olympics is an accomplishment of a lifetime, and no injury can take away the fact that she earned her spot.

As painful as it is to lose your opportunity when you’re so close, it’s clear Heidi has the love and support she needs in this awful moment in her young life.

Join me on Twitter for more sports news.

Follow @Dr__Carson

The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia got off to a rousing start on Feb. 6 as the women's freestyle skiing moguls event got underway.

The first round of qualifying took place, and it offered a potential glimpse into the future as the United States and Canada figure to engage in a battle to top the podium.

Defending Vancouver 2010 gold medalist Hannah Kearney of Team USA was impressive as always with a first-place finish in qualifying, but she was followed closely by Canadian sisters Chloe and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who are gold-medal contenders in their own right.

Moguls can certainly be dangerous due to the high-flying tricks that are involved, so qualifying also featured several crashes and scary moments. With that in mind, Olympic viewers simply won't want to miss any of the freestyle moguls action moving forward.

In addition to the full qualifying results for the first women's outing in Sochi, here is a closer look at the storylines that dominated women's moguls on Day 1 of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Rank	Name	Country	Score	Qualified
1	Hannah Kearney	USA	23.05	Q
2	Chloe Dufour-Lapointe	Canada	22.64	Q
3	Justine Dufour-Lapointe	Canada	22.28	Q
4	Eliza Outtrim	USA	21.51	Q
5	Perrine Laffont	France	21.34	Q
6	Yulia Galysheva	Kazakhstan	21.17	Q
7	Aiko Uemura	Japan	21.01	Q
8	Maxime Dufour-Lapointe	Canada	20.88	Q
9	Audrey Robichaud	Canada	20.61	Q
10	Regina Rakhimova	Russia	20.48	Q
11	Nikola Sudova	Czech Republic	20.38
12	Britteny Cox	Australia	20.19
13	Deborah Scanzio	Italy	20.02
14	Heather McPhie	USA	19.92
15	Junko Hoshino	Japan	19.72
16	Taylah O'Neill	Australia	18.57
17	Nicole Parks	Australia	18.49
18	Elena Muratova	Russia	17.95
19	Marika Pertakhiya	Russia	17.53
20	Tereza Vaculikova	Czech Republic	17.46
21	Qin Ning	China	16.83
22	Arisa Murata	Japan	16.69
23	Darya Rybalova	Kazakhstan	16.24
24	Jee-Won Seo	Korea Republic	15.95
25	Ekaterina Stolyarova	Russia	8.44
26	Laura Grasemann	Germany	6.81
N/A	Hedvig Wessel	Norway	DNF
N/A	Heidi Kloser	USA	DNS
N/A	Jung-Hwa Seo	Korea Republic	DNS
N/A	Miki Ito	Japan	DNS

Defending Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney Starts Well

Kearney entered Sochi as the definitive favorite to win gold after doing so in Vancouver four years ago, and she proved deserving of that lofty status in qualifying by finishing first with a score of 23.05.

Kearney, who is also the world-cup leader in women's moguls, was nearly flawless in her initial run.

Not only did Kearney make it through the course quickly, but she also performed her back layout and 360 grab jumps to near perfection.

With that said, Kearney will have to rely on endurance in order to reach her ultimate goal. The new moguls format will make things more difficult for skiers with three runs in one day moving forward, but Kearney isn't concerned, according to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times:

It's good for us. "I can say quite confidently that (Team USA is) the most fit, strongest team out there. We're as prepared as possible to handle several days of competition in a row. Also, being veterans is helpful because you learn to just go with the flow. It's peculiar that the very first time we try a format is on such a grand stage. But I don't think it will have a negative effect.

Kearney's supreme confidence has to be disconcerting for her competition. Provided she remains locked in and performs to her potential during the finals, she will be extremely difficult to surpass.

Dufour-Lapointe Sisters Fly Into Next Round

If anyone is going to knock off Kearney, it may be one of the Canadian Dufour-Lapointe sisters.

After qualification, 22-year-old Chloe and 19-year-old Justine sit in second and third place respectively. It is a slight departure from their positioning on the world cup circuit, where Justine is second and Chloe is third behind lead dog Hannah Kearney.

In addition to Chloe and Justine, a third Dufour-Lapointe sister competed on Day 1 as well.

Although 24-year-old Maxime Dufour-Lapointe is unlikely to medal alongside her sisters, she finished eighth, which was good enough for the sisterly trio to advance to the finals together, according to Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald:

Not surprisingly, all three Dufour-Lapointe sisters started their run the same way with a 360 jump. Chloe and Maxime followed that up with a back puck with position, although Justine changed things up a little bit with a back tuck.

It wasn't enough to get her past big sister Chloe in qualifying, but the sibling rivalry will be an interesting wrinkle once the finals kick off.

American Contender Heidi Kloser Suffers Injury

While most expected Kearney and two of the Dufour-Lapointe sisters to control the podium in Sochi, American Heidi Kloser was a popular pick to potentially play spoiler.

She is a distant fourth in the world cup standings, but the 21-year-old upstart has the skill necessary to reach that next level. Unfortunately for Kloser, a training run crash prevented her from attempting to qualify, according to Stacy St. Clair of the Chicago Tribune:

Per Lindsay Jones of USA Today, it is being reported that Kloser suffered a knee injury:

It is unclear what her status is for the remainder of the competition, but the second qualifying run will take place on Feb. 8, which means that Kloser will still have a chance to make it into the finals provided she is healthy enough to give it a go.

Kloser's crash in training was a huge disappointment for moguls fans, but it was likely far more devastating to Kloser as she seemed extremely excited about the opportunity to compete in the Olympics:

If Kloser is unable to return to action, American Eliza Outtrim is the next woman up. She finished fourth in qualifying behind the top contenders, and while she hasn't had as much success as Kloser, perhaps she can surprise some people.

Even with two American contenders in place, Team USA supporters are holding their breath and hoping that Kloser's injury isn't a serious one.

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The 2013 U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix reaches its conclusion on Saturday night with the men's and women's slopestyle.

It's an appropriate way to end the competition as slopestyle has quickly become one of skiing's most popular events. The discipline has gained enough of a following to have earned a spot at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the first time slopestyle has ever been featured at the Winter Olympics.

For those unaware of what slopestyle is, CNN's Tom McGowan explains:

Slopestyle is a freestyle skiing discipline that sees competitors tackle a variety of obstacles, such as jumps and rails, as they descend a downhill course.

Rather than being ranked by time, skiers are judged on the variety and difficulty of the tricks they perform as they traverse the obstacles.

On Saturday night, you'll likely see plenty of stars destined to feature in Sochi. Among the 24 finalists who will feature, these four stand out.

Keri Herman

Keri Herman is the United States' best chance to take home gold in Sochi. The 31-year-old was the first American woman to win a World Cup title in slopestyle when she did so in Argentina in 2012. She also won gold at the U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain in January and has four silvers from Winter X Games.

Suffice it to say, Herman will be one of the favorites on Saturday. She's got the results and the experience to reign supreme at Copper Mountain.

It would be huge to win and take that momentum into Russia.

Grete Eliassen

One of the biggest threats to Herman will be Grete Eliassen.

The 27-year-old dominated the halfpipe at the Winter X Games before moving onto slopestyle. She's so far failed to carry over the same kind of results she had in halfpipe, winning a silver and two bronze medals between 2009-11. Eliassen also placed third in slopestyle at the World Ski Championships in 2013.

Reading Eliassen's story is inspiring. This is somebody who's been skiing professionally since the age of 17, and worked hard to become one of the best female slopestyle skiers. It would be great to see her segue a strong performance on Saturday into a medal in what will likely be her only Olympics appearance.

Bobby Brown

Among the Americans who could bring home gold in men's slopestyle, Bobby Brown will receive plenty of consideration. The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the guys to beat in both slopestyle and big air, winning gold in each discipline at the Winter X Games.

Brown is one of the most unique skiers you're gonna see. There is almost nothing he's unwilling to try in the air, highlighted by his successful triple cork attempt.

Even if Brown doesn't win on Saturday, he'll be a lot of fun to watch.

Tom Wallisch

One of the top contenders in men's slopestyle will be Tom Wallisch. He won gold at the 2013 World Ski Championships and also has a gold medal from the 2012 Winter X Games.

Much like Brown, Wallisch has built a strong following from his electrifying runs on the slopes. No matter what the result of the final is, Wallisch will give fans their money's worth.

The 26-year-old has come a long way from where he was at the start of the year. Wallisch suffered an injury in January. While that could've doomed his season, he went on to win in Voss and could cap off the year with a gold at Copper Mountain.