Roughly halfway through the competition, and with her biggest threats having already skied, American Lindsey Vonn is leading the Women’s Downhill. Fellow American Julia Mancuso is currently in second place.
Lindsey Vonn Leading Women’s Downhill, Mancuso In Second
Vonn, who famously has been battling a right shin injury for the past two weeks, attacked the course in Whistler -- arguably the most difficult women’s downhill run in Olympic history -- recording negative splits the entire way down the mountain. When she crossed the finish line, she looked up at the clock and saw she was first, more than a half-second ahead of her teammate, Mancuso. Vonn collapsed in the snow in celebration before limping off the course and almost immediately removing her ski boots.
A heavy favorite, Sweden’s Anja Paerson, was threatening to overtake the spot for the silver medal, but lost control going over the final jump, caught air and completely wiped out just before the finish line.
Germany’s Maria Riesch, perhaps Vonn’s biggest threat, and her best friend off the slopes, looked hesitant throughout her run, and finds herself in eighth place, over two seconds behind Vonn.
An American has never won the Olympic Women’s Downhill gold medal.
More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.
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