Downhill skier Lindsey Vonn had high hopes before the final Olympic run of her career at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang on Thursday, February 22. “I certainly know that I’m a pretty good competitor, ” the athlete, 33, told reporters, per USA Today. “I’m going to give it hell and maybe I can pull out a miracle.”
But on the the 13th gate, Vonn’s ski clipped and she was out. The silver medal went to 22-year-old teammate Mikaela Shiffrin. Switzerland’s Michelle Gisin claimed gold, while her fellow Swiss Wendy Holdener won bronze.
“As much as I had very little chance of getting on the podium today, I still had a chance,” Vonn told the Chicago Tribune. “Would’ve loved to have been there and made it to the finish, but such is life.”
As for Shiffrin, she’s going back to Colorado with two medals: gold and silver. “It’s a nice way to end the Olympics,” she told Fox News. “I started off with a band and ending with a medal on the podium is really cool.”
But Vonn has much to be proud of too: she earned bronze on Wednesday — her first medal in eight years. It was a big comeback for the racer, who throughout the years has suffered multiple injuries in 2012 and 2013 and didn’t compete at the Sochi Games four years ago.
“It’s so rewarding. Of course I would have liked a gold medal but this is amazing and I am so proud,” she told NBC after competing in Alpine skiing on Wednesday. “I gave it my best shot. I worked my butt off.”
