Mikaela Shiffrin

Lindsey Vonn: I Didn't Want to Win in Training Today

Vonn, who finished .35 seconds slower than Austria’s Stephanie Venier on Sunday, believes not winning in training can actually be a competitive advantage

Lindsey Vonn clocked the fastest time in Saturday’s downhill training run. But she went out of her way not to let that happen again in Sunday’s training run.  

As Vonn approached the finish, she stood up out of her crouch and extended her arms, purposely slowing herself down.

"I actually didn't want to win the training run today," Vonn said on NBC. "I like letting other people think that they are faster."

Vonn, who finished .35 seconds slower than Austria’s Stephanie Venier on Sunday, believes not winning in training can actually be a competitive advantage.

"In speed, there are a few things you can do to play mind games," said Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion. "I use every opportunity."

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin finished 16th, a distant 1.80 seconds behind Venier, and fourth among Americans, behind Vonn, Alice McKennis and Breezy Johnson. 

Shiffrin, who already won the giant slalom gold medal in Pyeongchang, is still undecided about competing in the Olympic downhill.

"I want to, for sure, but I don’t know," Shiffrin said. "I'm kind of going to see how it goes tomorrow [in training], because I definitely want to pick up my speed in sections. That's my biggest goal, then we'll see."

Fellow American Stacey Cook, who suffered a crash in a World Cup race just days before the start of the Olympics, appeared to be in pain after her downhill training run. 

The downhillers will return for another training run on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

The race itself is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.

Sunday’s downhill training
1. Stephanie Venier (Austria)
2. Sofia Goggia (Italy) +.08 seconds
3. Lindsey Vonn (USA) +.35 seconds

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