Lindsey Vonn Wins Bronze
Medal in Women’s Downhill

Lindsey Vonn, the American skiing superstar, won the third Olympic medal of her career, but it was a bronze, not a gold, in the downhill.

Vonn finished behind Sofia Goggia, the first Italian woman to win the downhill, and Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway.

Shortly after her run, Vonn, 33, became emotional when asked about her future. “It’s sad, I love what I do, but my body just probably can’t take another four years,” she told NBC.

“It’s tough to contemplate this being my last Olympic downhill. I struggled to keep it all together, but I left it all on the mountain. I’d have loved a gold medal, but honestly, I’m so proud.”

Vonn was the downhill winner in 2010 and added a bronze in the super-G. But she missed the 2014 Games with a knee injury. She did not make a major mistake in her run but could not catch Goggia, who seemed well suited to the course, over which she had won a test event last year.

“I moved like a samurai,” Goggia said. “Usually, I’m really chaotic but I wanted to take in every little detail, every particular in the morning. I believed in myself — and then what counts, counts.”

At 33, Vonn is the oldest female medalist in Alpine skiing at the Winter Games. The record was previously held by Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister, who was was 32 when she won the downhill and the super-G at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Here’s how it happened:

Weirather Puts Up Solid Run

With the first three skiers down the mountain, Weirather of Liechtenstein, was the leader. The Austrian Cornelia Huetter, a possible contender, nearly fell twice in the last moments of her run and lost all chance. Vonn will ski seventh. So far, the snow conditions look fast for the downhill — skiers are flying a little farther off the jumps than in training runs.

Goggia Grabs Early Lead; Vonn Up Next

Goggia beat Tina Weirather by more than six-tenths of a second and is the new leader. That is the mark that Vonn will chase in a few moments.

Vonn’s Run Puts Her in Second

There will be no gold medal for Vonn in the downhill. There were no major bobbles in her downhill run, but she could not match Goggia’s time. She moved into second place, 47 hundredths behind.

Vonn’s Medal Hopes Solid After Gut Falls

Another contender, Lara Gut of Switzerland, missed a gate and did not finish. Stephanie Venier of Austria crashed, and Ramona Siebenhofer of Austria and Michelle Gisin of Switzerland could not match Goggia or Vonn’s times. With 13 skiers down the hill, including most of the big names, Vonn’s potential silver is looking more solid.

“There are no snowboarders in this race, so hopefully I can stay in second,” said Vonn, referring to Ester Ledecka’s surprising win in the super-G.

Goggia is bidding to be the first Italian woman to win an Alpine gold since 2002.

Vonn Drops Back to Bronze

Vonn has fallen back in bronze position. Ragnhild Mowinckel of Norway, the giant slalom silver medalist, had a strong run from the top of the course and moved into second position, finishing just nine hundredths of a second behind Sofia Goggia. With the top 20 skiers all having taken their runs, a Goggia-Mowinckel-Vonn podium looks likely.