Lindsey Vonn dedicates long-awaited Olympics race to late grandfather on Instagram
Lindsey Vonn is one of the United States’ most visible and celebrated athletes.
That fact that she remains a household name despite not taking an Olympic skiing hill in eight years is a testament to her legacy and star power.
Vonn, a dominant World Cup skier with 81 career first-place finishes, won gold and bronze medals in 2010 in Vancouver before missing the 2014 Sochi Games after tearing her right ACL twice in 2013. She is scheduled to make her PyeonChang debut Saturday (Friday night in the U.S.) in the Super G with hopes of capping her legacy with more Olympic hardware in what is all likelihood her final Games.
Early Friday, Vonn posted her excitement for her return to the Olympic stage and dedicated her next race to her late grandfather Don Kildow on Instagram.
In the lead-up to her debut, Vonn has spoken emotionally of Kildow, who was stationed in Korea as a member of the U.S. Army during the Korean War and had hoped to be in PyeongChang for her Olympics run. He died at 88 on Nov. 1.
It’s an emotional setup for Vonn that could make for some dramatic moments at the Jeongseon Alpine Center.
