About two weeks after the conclusion of the Olympics, Lindsey Vonn is making sure we keep tabs on her. After failing to win a gold medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Vonn reminded the world why she's still one of the best skiers on the planet, picking up her 82nd World Cup race victory by winning the downhill at the World Cup Finals in Are, Sweden on Wednesday.
Vonn already holds the record for World Cup race wins for women, but she has her eyes on another prize: Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark's mark of 86 World Cup wins. She now trails Stenmark's record by only four wins. In a recent interview, Vonn told Maverick Carter that she wouldn't stop skiing until she broke that record and could be called the best in the world, full stop. She's continuing to put her money where her mouth is.
The win was Vonn's fourth straight World Cup downhill win. She barely beat Olympic downhill gold medalist (and close friend) Sofia Goggia by six hundredths of a second. Goggia ended up winning the season downhill title, which is the culmination of all eight World Cup downhills throughout the season. Had Goggia ended up with bronze, Vonn would have won the title.
Had Vonn won the downhill's crystal globe, it would have been her ninth time winning in the discipline. That would break a record she currently shares with Stenmark, with whom she is currently tied with for most titles in one discipline.
After the race, Vonn remained steadfast in her career goals.
"My main goal for the remainder of my career is to beat Ingemar's record," Vonn said on Wednesday, via NBC Sports. "I hope to do that before my knee gives out."
Vonn has won six races in 2018 -- four in downhill and two in super-G -- so if she continues this pace she'll be in good shape to eclipse Stenmark's record in a year. It would be an impressive pace, but Vonn hasn't showed signs of slowing down, so long as she stays healthy. By the time she's done, she wants to be the best. And Vonn has proven time and time again that if she wants to prove herself, she'll do it.
Vonn will go for No. 83 in the super-G on Thursday. Although she's out of title contention for the crystal globe, she can still make progress in other ways during her last race of the season.
