American Lindsey Vonn claimed her eighth World Cup win of the season and 49th of her career after dominating the St Moritz downhill on Saturday.
Vonn, the Olympic champion in the discipline, finished comfortably ahead of Germany’s overall World Cup champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein.
Vonn, who won a super-combined on Friday, had a chance to make it three consecutive wins — and thus reach a landmark 50 in the series — in another combined scheduled for yesterday.
Photo: AFP
After failing to win the past two downhills, Vonn was untouchable on Saturday in what is her strongest discipline, relegating her podium rivals to over a second-and-a-half in arrears.
Hoefl-Riesch had deprived Vonn of a fourth World Cup crown last season when she claimed her maiden Crystal Globe after a thrilling end to a duel that also dented the pair’s hitherto strong friendship.
This season, Vonn is is no mood to lose out on a fourth World Cup triumph. She already has a lead of 352 points on Slovenian Tina Maze, who finished fourth on Saturday having finished second to Vonn in the super-combined on Friday.
“It’s funny. I already have eight wins this year and it’s still January. Last year I had eight wins for the entire season. It’s a big change for me,” said Vonn, who is finding more consistency in the technical events.
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