Town of Vail, Colorado
—  Town  —
Gore Creek Drive in Vail Village
Official logo of Town of Vail, Colorado Logo
Location in Eagle County and the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°38′9″N 106°21′47″W / 39.63583°N 106.36306°W / 39.63583; -106.36306Coordinates: 39°38′9″N 106°21′47″W / 39.63583°N 106.36306°W / 39.63583; -106.36306
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County[1]	Eagle County
Incorporated	1966[2]
Government
• Type	Home Rule Municipality[1]
• Mayor	Dick Cleveland[3]
• Town Manager	Stan Zemler
Area
• Total	4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2)
• Land	4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	8,022 ft (2,445 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	4,531
• Density	1,006.9/sq mi (387.3/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	81657
Area code(s)	970
FIPS code	08-80040
GNIS feature ID	0202339
Website	Town of Vail

The Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005.^[4] The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived. Vail Ski Resort's first season was in December, 1962 and it is the second largest ski mountain in North America (after Whistler Blackcomb).

History[link]

10th Mountain Division in Vail

Vail was incorporated in 1966, four years after the opening of Vail Ski Resort. The ski area was founded by Pete Seibert and local rancher Earl Eaton in 1962, at the base of Vail Pass. The pass was named after Charles Vail, the highway engineer who routed U.S. Highway 6 through the Vail Valley in 1940, and eventually became Interstate 70. Seibert, a New England native, served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division during World War II, which trained at Camp Hale, 14 miles south of Vail between Red Cliff and Leadville. He was wounded in Italy at the Battle of Riva Ridge but went on to become a professional skier after he recovered.^[5]

Seibert, with other former members of the 10th Mountain Division, returned to Colorado after WWII with the intention of opening a ski resort. During training for ski troopers at Camp Hale, he bivouacked on Vail Mountain and identified it as an ideal ski mountain. In the early 1960s, Seibert raised funds from a group of Denver investors, including Jack Tweedy, and with Earl Eaton bought a ranch at the base of the mountain and eventually incorporated as Vail Associates. In 1962 the resort opened for its first season. It operated a gondola and two ski-lifts on the mountain owned by the United States Forest Service. The village was established at the base of the mountain for local residents and offered logding for visitors. It quickly grew throughout the valley with housing added first in East Vail and then West Vail, and additional lodging added in Lionshead in the late 1960s.^[6][5] Within the first years the village had a ski shop operated by John Houserman, a hotel and restaurant operated by Pepi Gramshammer, and the mountain had a manager.^[7]

Geography[link]

Vail's average elevation is 8,150 feet (2484 m) above sea level. The town has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²), with no lakes (there is, however, at least one pond). Gore Creek flows from east to west through the center of town.

The town is surrounded by the White River National Forest and the Vail Ski Resort is leased from the United States Forest Service. Mount of the Holy Cross is visible from Vail Mountain.

Vail Mountain[link]

Vail Mountain rises from 8,120 feet (2,476 m) to 11,570 feet (3,527 m), giving a vertical height of 3,450 feet (1,052 m).^[8] It has a 5,289 acres (21 km²) skiable area, 33 ski lifts, 193 marked skiing trails on three faces: the front side, the back bowls, and Blue Sky Basin. The seven back bowls are Sun Down Bowl, Sun Up Bowl, Teacup Bowl, China Bowl, Siberia Bowl, Inner Mongolia Bowl, and Outer Mongolia Bowl. Blue Sky Basin includes Pete's Bowl and Earl's Bowl—to commemorate Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton.

Climate[link]

Vail has pleasantly warm summers and cold winters because of its elevation. Depending on the classification used, it is either an alpine or subarctic climate. Minimum temperatures rarely rises above freezing point from late September to late May. The town receives an average of 200 inches of snowfall per season, with even more in the surrounding mountains. Roads may close occasionally during heavy snowfall. Summer temperatures can reach the 80s Fahrenheit, but are more often in the low to mid 70s. Combined with mountain breezes, this makes summers refreshing and cool.

Transportation[link]

Teva Mountain Games in Vail

North side of Vail Mountain, and Vail Valley.

Vail is served by Eagle County Airport near Gypsum, 30 miles to the west. Native Americans used to call the area near the airport the "hole in the sky" because storms seemed to avoid it. Vail is modeled on European ski towns, many of which are car-free, and the town is partially pedestrianized. The town operates the largest free shuttle bus system in the United States and has one hybrid-electric bus. At each bus stop, a sign reports when the next two buses will arrive.

The In-Town Shuttle provides service every five minutes during peak winter times, and every 15 minutes off-peak, between Golden Peak, Vail Village, the business district, and Lionshead, with live schedule information provided at bus stops by Global Positioning System technology, which tracks buses. Other routes centering on the Transportation Center service the East and West Vail districts on a scheduled, but less frequent basis.^[10]

Eagle County provides bus service from the Transportation Center with service to Vail, Leadville, Minturn, Eagle-Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Eagle, Gypsum and Dotsero.

Highways[link]

Interstate 70 runs east-west through the middle of Vail and is the only road to or from Vail, with exits at East Vail, at the base of Vail Pass, the town of Vail, and West Vail. From the east, the highway comes from Denver, 97 miles away, passes through Loveland Tunnel and over the Continental Divide, by-passing Loveland Pass, and over Vail Pass, dropping down into Vail Valley. To the west, it meets Highway 6 and Highway 24 at Dowd Junction, passes through Avon, Edwards, Colorado, and Eagle, through Glenwood Canyon traveling and on to Grand Junction, and reaches Utah, where it ends at the intersection with Interstate 15.

In West Vail, Highway 6 (which still exists as a service road between East Vail, Vail, and West Vail) merges with I-70 at Dowd Junction. I-70 roughly follows the original Highway 6 route until the two highways diverge again in Silverthorne, 31 miles to the east.

Demographics[link]

The 2000 census^[11] found 4,531 people, 2,165 households, and 762 families living in the town. The population density was 999.0 people per square mile (385.3/km²). There were 5,389 housing units at an average density of 1,188.1 per square mile (458.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.13% White, 0.29% African American, 0.49% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.20% of the population.

There were 2,165 households in which 11.8% had children under the age of 18, 30.0% were married couples, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 64.8% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 people and the average family size was 2.62 people.

The population age distribution was 9.9% people under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 47.9% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. There were 140.1 males for every 100 females, and 143.0 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The median household income was $56,680, and the median family income was $66,389. Men had a median income of $33,534 versus $32,065 for women. The per capita income for the town was $42,390. About 1.8% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those aged 65 or over.

Economy[link]

The Vail economy relies on tourism. While much of the industry is based on winter sports, Vail is also a summer resort and golfing center. Summer activities include guided hikes, mountain biking, horseback riding, carriage rides and fishing. Vail is also developing as a cultural center, with various art and music venues active throughout the summer. The town has a developed culinary center, with a variety of restaurants.

Arts and culture[link]

Notable cultural events[link]

• Vail Film Festival — in March or early April, annually
• Vail International Dance Festival - summer dance festival featuring major ballet and contemporary dance companies. Notable companies include the New York City Ballet, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and the San Francisco Ballet.
• Vail Lacrosse Shootout - Late June-Early July Ford Park.
• Vail Valley Music Festival - featuring the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Museums and other points of interest[link]

• Betty Ford Alpine Gardens
• Colorado Ski Museum
• Steadman-Hawkins clinic — World renowned clinic for knee injuries
• Vail Ski Resort

Government[link]

Vail has a council-manager form of government and is led by a seven member town council elected at-large.

Education[link]

Vail's public schools are part of Eagle County School District RE-50, with high school students attending Battle Mountain High School. Eagle County Schools also offers the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, a joint program with area ski programs for students in grades 8-12 who are involved in competitive skiing and snowboarding. Private schools in Vail include Vail Mountain School (K-12), Vail Christian High School (9-12), St. Clare of Assisi Catholic School (K-8), and The Vail Academy (PK-8). Higher education is available at the Vail Eagle Valley campus of Colorado Mountain College.

Media[link]

The Vail Daily newspaper is published by Colorado Mountain News Media. Alternative news and information sources include Vail Mountaineer.

A broadcast translator for public radio station KUNC allows listeners in the Eagle Valley to listen at 99.7 FM.

Two specialty television networks have stations in Vail, Plum TV and Resort Sports Network. The latter, branded as TV-8, also broadcasts on the low-powered UHF station K45IE. The Ski Channel is available only on DirecTV on Channel 1860.

During the mid 1970s, Vail became known as the Western White House of President Gerald Ford, when he conducted much of the nation's business from The Lodge at Vail hotel. The national media followed Ford to Vail and often broadcast television pictures of Vail's mountain slopes.^[12]

Famous residents[link]

• Michael Bloomberg
• Toby Dawson
• Rob Eaton "Dark Star Orchestra"
• John Glenn part-time (also lives in Cleveland and Orlando)
• Brad Ludden
• Seth Morrison
• Sarah Schleper
• Richard Steadman
• Ryan Sutter
• Trista Sutter
• Lindsey Vonn part-time (also lives in Austria)

Sister cities[link]

• St. Moritz, Switzerland

See also[link]

• Outline of Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
  • Colorado cities and towns
    • Colorado municipalities
  • Colorado counties
    • Eagle County, Colorado
  • Colorado metropolitan areas
    • Edwards, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Gore Range
• Vail Lacrosse Shootout
• Vail Pass
• Vail Ski Resort

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vail, Colorado

• Town of Vail website
• Vail Valley Partnership, The Chamber and Tourism Bureau
• Vail, Colorado at the Open Directory Project

v t e Municipalities and communities of Eagle County, Colorado, United States County seat: Eagle Towns Avon Basalt‡ Eagle Gypsum Minturn Red Cliff Vail CDPs Dotsero Edwards El Jebel Bulford McCoy Wolcott Unincorporated communities Beaver Creek Bond Burns Cordillera Eagle-Vail Gilman Sheephorn Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e  State of Colorado Denver (capital) Topics Index Coloradans Economy Federal lands Geography Highways History Images Law and government Military Mountains Museums Rivers Symbols Visitor attractions Regions Central Colorado Colorado Piedmont Colorado Plateau Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area Eastern Plains Front Range Grand Valley High Rockies Mineral Belt Roaring Fork Valley Sangre de Cristo Mountains San Luis Valley South‑Central Colorado Southwest Colorado Uinta Mountains Western Slope Municipalities Akron Alamosa Arvada Aspen Aurora Boulder Breckenridge Brighton Broomfield Cañon City Castle Rock Centennial Colorado Springs Commerce City Cortez Craig Delta Denver Durango Englewood Erie Evans Fairplay Federal Heights Fort Collins Fort Morgan Fountain Golden Glenwood Springs Grand Junction Greeley Greenwood Village Gunnison Lafayette La Junta Lakewood Lamar Leadville Littleton Longmont Louisville Loveland Montrose Northglenn Parker Platteville Pueblo Salida Steamboat Springs Sterling Superior Thornton Trinidad Vail Westminster Wheat Ridge Windsor Counties Adams Alamosa Arapahoe Archuleta Baca Bent Boulder Broomfield Chaffee Cheyenne Clear Creek Conejos Costilla Crowley Custer Delta Denver Dolores Douglas Eagle El Paso Elbert Fremont Garfield Gilpin Grand Gunnison Hinsdale Huerfano Jackson Jefferson Kiowa Kit Carson La Plata Lake Larimer Las Animas Lincoln Logan Mesa Mineral Moffat Montezuma Montrose Morgan Otero Ouray Park Phillips Pitkin Prowers Pueblo Rio Blanco Rio Grande Routt Saguache San Juan San Miguel Sedgwick Summit Teller Washington Weld Yuma

Deas Vail (pronounced "day-us vayl") is an indie rock band, whose lyrics are influenced by their Christian faith, signed to Mono Vs Stereo label. The name "Deas Vail" is a combination of Latin and old French, roughly translated as "Humble servent of God." The band's third full-length album, "Deas Vail", has earned them respect as well as slots at Bonnaroo and a headlining performance at CMJ.

History[link]

Noted for having musical similarities to Death Cab for Cutie, Mew, Copeland, and Mae, Deas Vail was formed in the university town of Russellville, Arkansas in 2003. After a couple of years of touring, Deas Vail signed to Brave New World Records (founded by producer Mark Lee Townsend) in 2005. In the fall of 2006, they released the Collapse EP. Sales for the EP through touring alone exceeded 2,500 units. Deas Vail toured across the nation that year with artists such as The New Frontiers and The Tide^{[disambiguation needed ]}.

In late 2006, the band entered the studio again with Mark Lee Townsend to finish their first indie label LP, All the Houses Look the Same. The album was nationally released on March 6, 2007 and featured in magazines such as Alternative Press, Relevant Magazine, and Hard Music Magazine. Another EP, White Lights EP, was released on August 26, 2008. Their album Birds and Cages was released on October 27, 2009 through the revived label Mono vs. Stereo, available through the band's website, via iTunes, and on tour. The album had a full physical release on January 26, 2010.^[1]

In September 2009, the band toured with Mae, followed by a tour with Owl City and Lights in early 2010. In March and April 2010, Deas Vail toured as an opening band for Copeland on their farewell tour. Deas Vail performed as part of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour from August 1 through August 15. In late 2010, two-fifths of Deas Vail, Wes Blaylock and Andy Moore, performed as an acoustic duo to open a set of Christmas-themed shows with Sherwood and Relient K.

In the music video for "Excuses", all band members were seen wearing an armband with a key attached to it on their left forearm. When questioned at their concert with Owl City and Lights at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA, Laura Blaylock stated, "The keys are kind of from our new album Birds & Cages and they represent freedom from cages."

By October 2010, the band had begun work on their new self-titled album, which is set to be released October 11, 2011. On May 25, 2011, they released a lyric video of their new song, "Sixteen",^[2] with another video, "Summer Forgets Me", premiering on Alt Press' website nearly a month later.^[3]

On October 10, 2011, they released their album Deas Vail a day earlier than planned on Amazon at a greatly discounted price.^[4] Shortly after, on November 29, 2011, they released a 4-track Christmas EP entitled "For Shepherds and Kings." This EP contains Deas Vail's take on a few traditional Christmas songs as well as the less traditional and bleak "Coventry Carol."^[5]

In 2008, Wesley and Laura Blaylock were married.

Band members[link]

• Wes Blaylock – lead vocals
• Laura Blaylock – piano, keyboards, synthesizers
• Justin Froning – bass guitar
• Wes Saunders – drums, percussion
• Andy Moore – guitars

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• Mark Lee Townsend

References[link]

External links[link]

• Deas Vail's official website
• Deas Vail at CD Baby
• Full Review of 'Birds & Cages' on The Album Project
• Deas Vail at Absolute Punk

Lindsey Vonn

Vonn in April 2010
Disciplines	Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom, Slalom, Combined
Club	Vail SSC
Born	(1984-10-18) October 18, 1984 (age 27) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
World Cup debut	November 18, 2000 (age 16)
Website	LindseyVonn.com
Olympics
Teams	3 – (2002–10)
Medals	2 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 – (2005–11)
Medals	5 (2 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	10th – (2002, '04–12)
Wins	53
Podiums	97
Overall titles	4 – (2008–10, 2012)
Discipline titles	12 – (5 DH, 4 SG, 3 KB)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Competitor for the USA Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Downhill Bronze 2010 Vancouver Super-G World Championships Gold 2009 Val d'Isère Downhill Gold 2009 Val d'Isère Super-G Silver 2007 Åre Downhill Silver 2011 Garmisch Downhill Silver 2007 Åre Super-G Junior World Ski Championships Silver 2004 Maribor Downhill Silver 2003 Puy St. Vincent Downhill Bronze 2004 Maribor Giant Slalom

Lindsey Caroline Vonn (née Kildow; born October 18, 1984) is an American alpine ski racer with the U.S. Ski Team. She has won four overall World Cup championships – one of only two female skiers to do so, along with Annemarie Moser-Pröll – with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010,^[1][2] plus another in 2012.^[3] Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first ever in the event for an American woman.^[4] She has also won five consecutive World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline, four consecutive titles in Super G, and three consecutive titles in the combined as of 2012.

Vonn is one of five women^[5] to have won World Cup races in all five disciplines of alpine skiing – downhill, super G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined – and has won 53 World Cup races in her career as of March 14, 2012. Only two women have more World Cup victories in their careers, Austrian Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62 and Swiss Vreni Schneider with 55, both retired from active racing. With her Olympic gold and bronze medals, two World Championship gold medals in 2009 (plus three silver medals in 2007 / 2011), and four overall World Cup titles, Vonn has become the most successful American skier in the history of alpine skiing.

Vonn received the Laureus World Sports Awards Sportswoman of the Year for 2010.^[6] She was also honored again as the USOC's sportswoman of the year for 2010.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Vonn was born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow.^[8] She was raised in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, in Burnsville. Vonn was on skis at age two, before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, who had been a national junior skiing champion before a knee injury at 18, "pushed" her very hard, according to Sailer.^[9]

When Vonn was ten years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her heroine and role model. Their meeting made such an impression on Street that she remembered the meeting and later served as Vonn's mentor in skiing. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail in the late 1990s.^[10][11]

Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study.^[12][13]

Vonn appeared in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition that featured Winter Olympians in 2010.^[14] Vonn also made No. 59 on Maxim's Hot 100 list.^[15]

She married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah.^[16] On November 27, 2011, it was announced that Lindsey and Thomas Vonn had begun divorce proceedings after four years of marriage.^[17]

Vonn frequently stays at the home of her friend and major competitor, Maria Riesch in Garmisch, Germany. Traditionally, Lindsey and Thomas Vonn spend Christmas Eve at the Riesch family home; Lindsey is fluent in German (including Austro-Bavarian).^[18] During the off-season, the Vonns reside in Vail, Colorado.,^[19] but also have residences in Germany and Atlanta. During the World Cup racing season in Europe, the U.S. team stays in Kirchberg.^[20] The most unusual of Vonn's trophies also lives in Kirchberg: Olympe the cow. Vonn won the oversized pet in 2005 in Val D'Isère.^[21] Vonn's nicknames are "Kildon", "Don Don" and "The Don." Her hobbies include cycling, tennis, reading, and watching NBC's Law & Order;^[11] Vonn appeared as a guest star in the final series episode ("Rubber Room") on Law & Order on May 24, 2010.

On December 7, 2011, Vonn notched her first World Cup victory on U.S. snow, at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Due to a lack of snow in France, its Super G was rescheduled in advance for a Wednesday on the Birds of Prey course. Her limited success on U.S. snow is primarily due to a lack of speed events; only three have been run in the U.S. during her career. It was the first home win by an American woman in 17 years, when Hilary Lindh of Alaska won the downhill in nearby Vail in December 1994. Vonn has had significant success in North America with eleven wins in Canada over eight seasons, all at Lake Louise, Alberta; she swept all three speed events at Lake Louise in December 2011. The eleven wins at Lake Louise broke the record held by Renate Goetschl for most career wins at a single resort.

Skiing career[link]

Early years[link]

In 1999, Vonn became the first American female to win at Italy's Trofeo Topolino (for skiers of ages 11–14) where she was victorious in slalom. After climbing through the ranks of the U.S. Ski Team, she made her World Cup debut at age 16 on November 18, 2000 in Park City, Utah.

2002–2005[link]

In her Olympic debut at the 2002 Winter Olympics at age 17, Vonn raced in both slalom and combined in Salt Lake City, with her best result coming with sixth in combined. On March 4, 2003, she earned a silver medal in downhill in the Junior World Championship at Puy Saint-Vincent, France.

Vonn credits a change in her attitude towards training after a bike ride with fellow ski racer Julia Mancuso and Mancuso's father Ciro while visiting them at their Lake Tahoe home in California. With little biking experience, she quickly found herself miles behind Julia and Ciro. Alone and embarrassed, she decided she needed to drastically revise her training regimen and her attitude towards training if she was going to be successful.^[22]

On March 24, 2004, Vonn was the downhill silver medalist at the U.S. Alpine Championships in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. In December 2004, Vonn climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy prior to her maiden victory in that specialty at Lake Louise, Alberta in December 2004. She captured five more World Cup podiums over the next two months.

In 2005, she competed in four races at her first World Championships held in Bormio, Italy, pulling in fourth place finishes in both the downhill and the combined. She was ninth in Super-G, but failed to finish the giant slalom. She cited the unexpected appearance of her father, with whom she has a strained relationship, for rattling her before the event.^[9]

2006–2007[link]

Lindsey Vonn during a slalom race in Aspen in November 2006.

At her second Winter Olympics in 2006, Vonn clocked the second best time in the first practice run yet crashed in the second training run for the downhill race on February 13, 2006 in San Sicario, Italy; she was evacuated by helicopter to Turin and was hospitalized overnight. Despite a bruised hip and strong pains, she returned on the slope two days later to compete and finished eighth. The gritty performance earned her the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award, as voted by American fans, fellow Team USA athletes, former U.S. Olympians, and members of the media for best representing the Olympic Spirit.

Vonn earned her first "big race" medals with silver in both downhill and Super-G at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. A training crash before the slalom caused her a low-level ACL sprain to her right knee, ending her season four weeks early. Nevertheless, she finished third for the season in the women's 2007 World Cup disciplines of downhill and Super G.

2008–2010: Winning the overall World Cup for 3 consecutive years[link]

In 2008, Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup title. She became only the second American woman to do so, following Tamara McKinney in 1983. American Bode Miller won the men's title to complete the first U.S. sweep of the men's and women's overall titles in 25 years (McKinney and Phil Mahre in 1983). She also won the World Cup season title in the downhill and the U.S. Alpine Championships combined title (downhill & slalom), marking her best ski season to date. Vonn also established a new all-time record for most World Cup downhill victories by an American with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8.

Vonn in March 2008.

Vonn in March 2008

In 2009, Vonn repeated as overall World Cup champion, as well as repeating as champion in the downhill and also winning the season championship in Super-G by winning the final race of the season. During the season, she broke Tamara McKinney's American record of 18 World Cup victories when she won the Super G at Tarvisio in February. Her nine World Cup wins also set an American single-season record, surpassing Phil Mahre's total of eight in 1982. At the 2009 World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, Vonn won her first world championship and became the first American woman to win the world Super-G title.^[23] In the super combined event, she won the downhill portion and had appeared to have finished second in the event with a strong slalom performance, but was disqualified for splitting a gate.^[24] Three days later she won the gold in the Downhill. During early 2009, she appeared in Alka-Seltzer television commercials in the United States as support for the United States Ski Team. During the summer of 2009, Vonn switched her equipment sponsor and supplier to Head skis, after previously racing her entire career on Rossignol skis.^[25] In October 2009, Vonn was awarded the Skieur d'Or Award^[26] by members of the International Association of Ski Journalists for her performances during the previous season.

In December 2009, Vonn sustained a bruised arm after a crash during the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom. She continued racing as there was no fracture that would prevent her return and run at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.^[27] Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a Super G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria from January 8–10, 2010. The wins raised her to second among American skiers on the all-time career list for World Cup wins with 28, passing Phil Mahre and trailing only Bode Miller. On January 14, 2010, Lindsey Vonn was named Colorado Athlete of the Year for 2009.^[28] With her victory in a Super G just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, she clinched her second straight Super G discipline title with two races still to go.^[29] Vonn ended up also winning the overall title, as well as the discipline titles in downhill, Super G and combined, and by winning the last Super G of the season, she boosted her overall World Cup victory total to 33, surpassing Bode Miller for the most World Cup victories by an American.^[30] The third consecutive overall World Cup title also equals Phil Mahre's American record and makes Vonn the third woman to achieve it, behind Petra Kronberger with 3 straight and Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 5 straight.^[30] Vonn was also named by the Associated Press as 2010 Female Athlete of the Year.^[31]

2010 Winter Olympics[link]

The medal ceremony for the women's downhill February 18, 2010 in Whistler at the 2010 Winter Olympics. From left: Julia Mancuso (silver), Lindsey Vonn (gold) and Elisabeth Görgl (bronze)

At the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Vonn planned to compete in all five women's alpine events.^[32] On February 10, she revealed she had severely bruised her shin in training the previous week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was "excruciating" and she would have a difficult time competing at the Winter Olympics.^[33] Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal.^[34] On February 17, in her first event, Vonn won the gold medal in the downhill on the demanding ladies' course at Whistler Blackcomb, beating longtime U.S. rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic gold in downhill.^[35][36]

From left to right: Tina Maze of Slovenia (silver), Andrea Fischbacher of Austria (gold), and Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. (bronze) with the medals they earned in the super-G.

In her second event, the super-combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill portion of the race. However, in the slalom portion, she crashed out when she failed to get her ski around a right-hand gate. Vonn said her shin wasn't the problem. Vonn's friend, Maria Riesch, won the gold, and teammate Julia Mancuso earned the silver medal.^[37]

In her third event, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher's winning time.^[38] Afterwards, Vonn said she didn't ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result.^[39] After the race, questions were raised about the setup of the course. Vonn's husband, Thomas, said the course was deliberately set up against Vonn. Austrian coach Juergen Kriechbaum denied any wrongdoing.^[40]

In her fourth event, the giant slalom, visibility was reduced by thick, low fog. Vonn crashed in her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and Vonn's disqualification from the event.^[41][42] In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and straddled a gate, disqualifying her from the event.

2011: Losing the overall World Cup to Maria Riesch by 3 points[link]

After three consecutive years of winning the overall World Cup by a clear margin of victory, 2011 was the first season she faced serious competition – from her best friend among the World Cup skiers, Maria Riesch of Germany, who had a strong start to the season by winning two downhills in Lake Louise, a place where Vonn previously enjoyed seven victories. Although Vonn placed on the podium in every speed race, she failed to finish in several slaloms. Riesch had five podiums in the first six slaloms and was significantly ahead in the overall ranking by the end of January.

The World Cup season was interrupted by the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where Vonn suffered from a concussion she acquired during training one week earlier. She started in only two events and achieved a seventh place in Super-G and a silver medal in downhill.

Back to World Cup and healthy again, Vonn attained an impressive series of results: being ahead of Riesch in most of the races (including a giant slalom she finished third, her best career result in GS until then), she took the overall lead for the first time all season after the downhill event of the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide. The Super-G was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, and after the slalom Riesch regained the overall lead with a margin of only 3 points. When the giant slalom was also cancelled due to weather, Riesch became the 2011 overall champion.

2012: Joining the all-event winner's club[link]

The 2012 season opened in October as usual in Sölden, Austria, where Vonn managed to win her first giant slalom. This made her a member of the exclusive circle of all-event winners, joining seven other alpine legends.

In December 2011 she went on to win all three races in Lake Louise (two downhills, one Super-G) for her second career 'hat trick', and with a career total of 11 victories in Lake Louise she surpassed Renate Götschl's record for most career wins at a single resort (ten in Cortina d'Ampezzo). Later in December, Vonn won the Super-G of Beaver Creek, which was her first victory in a World Cup race held in the United States.

With further victories in January 2012, she overtook Renate Götschl to become the third most successful female World Cup racer in terms of victories.

On February 4, 2012, Vonn achieved her fiftieth World Cup victory on the Kandahar downhill course at Garmisch, Germany. The win also gave her 25 career downhill victories, surpassing Götschl for second most career DH wins. With a podium finish in Russia on February 18, 2012 Vonn clinched the season title in downhill, her fifth consecutive in that discipline.

World Cup results[link]

Vonn in March 2010 with 8 crystal globes, including 3 large ones for FIS World Cup overall titles and 5 smaller ones for various discipline titles.

Season standings[link]

Season titles[link]

16 titles (4 overall, 5 downhill, 4 super G, 3 combined)

Race victories[link]

53 victories (26 downhill, 18 super G, 2 giant slalom, 2 slalom, 5 combined)

Season	Date	Location	Race
2005	December 3, 2004	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
2006 3 victories (2 DH, 1 SG)	December 3, 2005	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	December 17, 2005	Val-d'Isère, France	Downhill
	March 3, 2006	Hafjell, Norway	Super G
2007 3 victories (2 DH, 1 SG)	December 2, 2006	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	December 20, 2006	Val-d'Isère, France	Downhill
	January 28, 2007	San Sicario, Italy	Super G
2008 6 victories (5 DH, 1 SC)	December 1, 2007	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	December 21, 2007	St. Anton, Austria	Downhill
	December 22, 2007		Super Combined
	January 19, 2008	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Downhill
	February 9, 2008	Sestriere, Italy	Downhill
	March 8, 2008	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Downhill
2009 9 victories (2 DH, 4 SG, 2 SL, 1 SC)	November 15, 2008	Levi, Finland	Slalom
	December 5, 2008	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	January 17, 2009	Altenmarkt, Austria	Super Combined
	January 30, 2009	Garmisch, Germany	Slalom
	February 1, 2009		Super G
	February 22, 2009	Tarvisio, Italy	Super G
	March 1, 2009	Bansko, Bulgaria	Super G
	March 11, 2009	Åre, Sweden	Downhill
	March 12, 2009		Super G
2010 11 victories (6 DH, 4 SG, 1 SC)	December 4, 2009	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	December 5, 2009		Downhill
	December 18, 2009	Val-d'Isère, France	Super Combined
	January 8, 2010	Haus im Ennstal, Austria	Downhill
	January 9, 2010		Downhill
	January 10, 2010		Super G
	January 22, 2010	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Super G
	January 23, 2010		Downhill
	January 31, 2010	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Super G
	March 6, 2010	Crans-Montana, Switzerland	Downhill
	March 12, 2010	Garmisch, Germany	Super G
2011 8 victories (3 DH, 4 SG, 1 SC)	December 5, 2010	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Super G
	December 18, 2010	Val-d'Isère, France	Downhill
	December 19, 2010		Super Combined
	January 8, 2011	Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria	Downhill
	January 21, 2011	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Super G
	January 23, 2011		Super G
	February 26, 2011	Åre, Sweden	Downhill
	March 6, 2011	Tarvisio, Italy	Super G
2012 12 victories (5 DH, 4 SG, 2 GS, 1 SC)	October 22, 2011	Sölden, Austria	Giant Slalom
	December 2, 2011	Lake Louise, AB, Canada	Downhill
	December 3, 2011		Downhill
	December 4, 2011		Super G
	December 7, 2011	Beaver Creek, CO, USA	Super G
	January 15, 2012	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy	Super G
	January 27, 2012	St. Moritz, Switzerland	Super Combined
	January 28, 2012		Downhill
	February 4, 2012	Garmisch, Germany	Downhill
	February 26, 2012	Bansko, Bulgaria	Super G
	March 9, 2012	Åre, Sweden	Giant Slalom
	March 14, 2012	Schladming, Austria	Downhill

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lindsey Vonn

• Lindsey Vonn at the International Ski Federation
• FIS-Ski.com – World Cup season standings – Lindsey Vonn
• Ski-db.com – Results – Lindsey Vonn
• lindseyvonn.com – personal site
• U.S. Ski Team – profile – Lindsey Vonn
• Head Skis – teams – Lindsey Vonn

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nastia Liukin & Natalie Coughlin	USOC Sportswoman of the Year 2009, 2010	Succeeded by Incubment
Preceded by Serena Williams	Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year 2010	Succeeded by Vivian Cheruiyot