Vancouver 2010 Olympic ski favorite Lindsey Vonn bruised a bone in her left arm following a crash on the opening run of a World Cup giant slalom on December 28, 2009.
Vonn had X-ray and MRI scans at a hospital before returning to the U.S. team hotel with her arm in a splint. According to U.S. team medical director the scans showed no fractures, only a bone bruise and lots of tissue swelling. "It's not a classic broken wrist, but a swelling," said the doctor. The doctor added Vonn might be able to race in Tuesday's slalom (December 29). "She's got a lot of pain now, but if she feels well she could start."
Vonn started 15th and made a couple of mistakes in the early part of her run, falling more than a second behind the leading time set by Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany. After a sharp left turn, the American lost her balance on a bump and fell backward, hitting a gate and losing a ski.
The two-time World Cup overall champion remained on the ground for a good 8-10 minutes while receiving first aid. Lindsay Vonn eventually stood up, put her skis back on and made it to the bottom of the hill with her left arm in a sling.
U.S. women's speed coach Alex Hoedlmoser was not present for the crash but was with Vonn for training the past two days. With the Vancouver 2010 Olympics just around the corner, Hoedlmoser suggested it might be a good idea to skip the slalom. "It definitely would make sense looking at the bigger picture for her to rest for a couple of days," he said. "But I know Lindsey, and I know she wants to race. It all depends on how painful it is."
Vonn was coming off a successful weekend in Val D'Isere, France. She had a victory in the super combined and a third-place finish in a super-G. These finishes helped her reclaim the top of the leader board for the overall World Cup standings ahead of rival Maria Riesch of Germany. Vonn is beating Riesch by 50 points.
Vonn has been known to compete with injuries. She skied the final part of last season despite a right thumb injury she sustained at the world championships in February. She needed surgery after cutting a tendon on a broken champagne bottle and raced the rest of the season with her pole taped to her glove.
Vonn is considered a strong medal contender in all five Alpine events during the Olympics: downhill, super-G, slalom, GS and super combined (one downhill run and one slalom run). If she cannot ski in Vancouver, it will be the latest in a string of Olympic disappointments for Vonn. She finished with an uninspired sixth and 22nd in Salt Lake City in 2002, when she was only 17-years old, and was seventh, eighth and 14th at the Turin Olympics
Vonn's appearance in Vancouver is also important to many Olympic sponsors.These sponsors have been building huge TV and Web commercials around her in the run-up to the Vancouver Olympic Games. Television network NBC has been giving fans a chance to design artwork for her racing helmet.
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