SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — (AP) — Lindsey Vonn briefly lost feeling in right arm after getting it hooked on a gate that took her out of her opening race at the Alpine skiing world championships on Thursday, having competed in the super-G despite feeling sick.
The 40-year-old Vonn recently returned to the ski circuit after nearly six years of retirement — with a new titanium right knee.
Vonn posted the 16th fastest time at the first split but then got caught coming around a right turn.
The gate pressed on her forearm, locked her elbow by her side and pushed the whole arm back with pressure on her shoulder. Vonn avoided falling and was able to stop but then grasped her arm in apparent pain.
“I'm OK. I hit my nerve somehow and I hit the gate and lost feeling in my arm but it’s coming back slowly,” Vonn said.
The American has been dealing with cold- and flu-like symptoms.
“I’m sick, I’m a little banged up. I know I skied the top well, I thought. Been playing with my material, my boots," Vonn said. "Just I was a little too aggressive to the gate and then it happened.”
Spectators in the finish area let out a collective gasp of astonishment and grew silent with concern at Vonn's mishap. But the American eventually skied down to the finish and waved to the crowd with her right arm.
Vonn then stayed out to join 22-year-old Lauren Macuga for the podium celebration after her much younger American teammate tied for third and secured a medal in her first world championship race — a feat that not even Vonn accomplished 20 years ago at her first worlds.
“I am really excited for Lauren, she skied amazing. I’m really proud of her,” Vonn said.
Vonn still plans to take part in Friday's last training session ahead of the downhill race on Saturday.
“I didn’t wait six years to be staying in bed because I’m sick,” Vonn said.
These are Vonn's ninth worlds but her first since the 2019 edition when she won bronze in downhill in her final race before retirement. The American has won two golds at the worlds, having swept the super-G and downhill in Val d'Isere, France, in 2009, and has an overall haul of eight medals.
Vonn is also the 2010 Olympic downhill champion and has two bronze medals from the Olympics.
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Vonn said the main goal of her comeback is to compete at next year's Milan-Cortina Olympics, when women's skiing will be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Italian resort where Vonn holds the record with 12 wins.
Thursday marks exactly one year to the Feb. 6, 2026, opening ceremony for the next Winter Games.
Apart from the downhill, Vonn will also compete in the new team combined event on Tuesday.
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Associated Press writer Eric Willemsen in Vienna contributed to this report.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing