Latest news with #AlpineSkiing
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cunningham stays hot, wins 110m hurdles in Atlanta
Lindsey Vonn discusses the emotional podium following her retirement comeback It's been just over a month since Lindsey Vonn made history. A second-place finish in a super-G race in Idaho saw her become the oldest female Alpine skier – by six years – to make the podium of a World Cup race. It was a deeply emotional moment as she ended her comeback season following her dramatic decision to come out of retirement. Vonn had originally called time on her career in 2019 but a partial knee replacement gave the 40-year-old a new lease of life on the slopes with eyes now firmly focused on next year's Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Vonn, appearing alongside fellow Olympians Eileen Gu and Maria Höfl-Riesch at a CNN panel at the Laureus World Sports Awards, has been telling CNN's Amanda Davies that the journey to get back to the top was one of the most challenging of her career. 4:32 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis reflects on ‘life-changing' year
Lindsey Vonn discusses the emotional podium following her retirement comeback It's been just over a month since Lindsey Vonn made history. A second-place finish in a super-G race in Idaho saw her become the oldest female Alpine skier – by six years – to make the podium of a World Cup race. It was a deeply emotional moment as she ended her comeback season following her dramatic decision to come out of retirement. Vonn had originally called time on her career in 2019 but a partial knee replacement gave the 40-year-old a new lease of life on the slopes with eyes now firmly focused on next year's Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Vonn, appearing alongside fellow Olympians Eileen Gu and Maria Höfl-Riesch at a CNN panel at the Laureus World Sports Awards, has been telling CNN's Amanda Davies that the journey to get back to the top was one of the most challenging of her career. 4:32 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Reuters
06-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Mikaela Shiffrin joins NWSL Denver's ownership group
May 6 - Skiing star and Colorado native Mikaela Shiffrin has joined the ownership group of Denver's expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League. "I'm beyond thrilled to join the ownership group of Denver NWSL and support something so meaningful in the community I call home," Shiffrin, 30, said in a statement released Tuesday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time overall World Cup champion is the most decorated Alpine skier in history with 101 career World Cup victories. The NWSL chose Denver as its 16th team in January. Owners of the still-unnamed franchise paid a $110 million expansion fee and will begin play in 2026. "Mikaela's commitment to excellence, her global impact, and her deep Colorado roots make her a perfect addition to our ownership group," team controlling owner Rob Cohen said. "We're building a club with purpose, and having Mikaela's vision and voice in that journey will be invaluable." Shiffrin, who was born in Vail, Colo., won gold medals in slalom at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi and in the giant slalom four years later in Pyeongchang. "The sport culture in Colorado is rich and deep, and -- most notably -- the growth of women's sports is one of the most exciting movements in our culture today," Shiffrin said. "To be part of it, and to help bring professional women's soccer to Colorado, is not only an incredible investment opportunity -- but it is both an honor and a joy." Lindsey Vonn, Shiffrin's former Olympic teammate, is an investor in the NWSL's Utah Royals FC.
New York Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mikaela Shiffrin joins NWSL's Denver ownership: ‘Good time to at least dip my toes in the water'
Long before Mikaela Shiffrin became a World Cup-winning Alpine skier, the two-time Olympic gold medalist dabbled in the world's beautiful game. 'Oh my gosh… when we weren't skiing, we were playing soccer,' a giddy Shiffrin told The Athletic as she reflected on moments from her childhood. 'We were juggling. We were dribbling. We were doing drills in the wintertime.' Shiffrin remembers playing for Lightning Soccer Club in Hanover, New Hampshire, and coming up with soccer-centric games to play in her basement with her brother and best friends. Soccer drills became part of her cross-training. But when she set out to become one of the greatest skiers of all time, soccer slowly faded into the past. That was until this week, when Shiffrin became the newest investor in NWSL Denver, the first professional women's soccer team in her home state of Colorado. The franchise announced Shiffrin as the latest member of their ownership group on Tuesday, as the team continues to race towards their inaugural season next year. While financial terms were not disclosed, Shiffrin described herself as a 'small-level investor' in the team. 'I've had conversations on and off over the years with several different people who are pretty heavily invested in women's sports, and this felt like a good time to at least dip my toes in the water,' Shiffrin said. 'It's obviously a huge investment opportunity, and maybe an opportunity that I have even a little bit greater access to than most people, being a female athlete from Colorado. But I'm super grateful for that.' With a record 101, Shiffrin has the most World Cup wins of any alpine skier in history. She is the only athlete to win all six alpine disciplines, and remains the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history, achieving that feat at 18 years and 345 days old. Shiffrin joins an ownership group led by insurance executive and controlling owner Rob Cohen. The group features investments from Project Level, a subsidiary of Ariel Investments led by Mellody Hobson and former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright; FirstTracks Sports Ventures LLC, led by siblings Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Moritz; and investors Neelima Joshi and Dhiren Jhaveri and Molly Coors. 'Mikaela's commitment to excellence, her global impact, and her deep Colorado roots make her a perfect addition to our ownership group,' Cohen said in a statement. 'We're building a club with purpose, and having Mikaela's vision and voice in that journey will be invaluable.' NWSL Denver is the league's 16th club, beginning play alongside fellow expansion team Boston Legacy FC in 2026. The club, which was awarded expansion rights in January, has steadily released a stream of updates in recent months. They unveiled plans for a 12,000-seat temporary stadium and performance center in Centennial, Colorado, and announced plans for a permanent stadium in Denver's urban core. The team hired its first front-office employee, with Jen Millet joining the club as their inaugural president from Bay FC. For Shiffrin, joining NWSL Denver marks her first investment in a professional sports team, as the skier expands her portfolio and finds ways to give back through sport. The latter is something she's committed to more extensively in recent years. In February, the 30-year-old announced a partnership with the Share Winter Foundation to celebrate her 100th World Cup victory at Sestriere in Italy's western Alps. The group's mission is to make winter sports more accessible, with Shiffrin aiming to raise $100,000 for youth programs. She also co-founded the Jeff Shiffrin Athlete Resiliency Fund in memory of her father, who died in 2020. The fund provides need-based, direct-to-athlete stipends to support U.S. ski and snowboard athletes' careers. Investing in NWSL Denver for Shiffrin is another way to give back. The hope is that, by investing, she can help create a foundation so women's professional sports teams in Colorado can reap the benefits of their state's rabid fan base. 'I'm excited to see that in the context of the women's side, because it's been very male-centric in Colorado for quite a while,' Shiffrin said. 'We have incredible female athletes. We have incredible women soccer players, but, you know, playing everywhere else. 'It would be so cool in the future if we could see some of our Colorado-born soccer players coming back and playing for this team. … Then it's that trickle-down effect of what you see over the next 10 years, the next 15 years, and then it gets really exciting in the next 20 years, when it's like, these kids who were not even born, necessarily, when this was starting to be developed.' Shiffrin envisions her role with NWSL Denver to be 'very low-level.' She hopes to make it to games, so long as her schedule allows. She spends about two or three months in the calendar year at her home in Edwards, Colorado, juggling between her demanding athletic schedule and making time for family and friends. Right now, she's in the thick of preparing for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina next year. 'The most that I can do, and like love to do, is talk about it and talk about the women's teams and just help bolster the sport,' Shiffrin said. 'Hopefully I'll be able to go to some games and be able to pump everything up and just take part in it.' While this is her first professional investment, it's unlikely to be her last. She said she'll keep her eyes open for what's next. 'Over the next years, as I continue to grow and maybe become better positioned, I'm going to keep looking for opportunities,' Shiffrin said, 'because it's just incredible to see how sports are growing and growing, and the young kids out in the world are able to look at both male and female athletes, and athletes of all shapes and sizes and colors, and say, 'This is an avenue that I can take. This is real for me, and I could aspire to be like that,' and I think it's really cool to help support that dream for the next generation.' (Top photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
CNN
06-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Lindsey Vonn says she proved to herself and her doubters that ‘I deserve to be here' after skiing return
CNN — In a CNN Sports exclusive interview, American skier Lindsey Vonn said that she has proved to herself – and her doubters – that she deserves to be back on the World Cup circuit after taking her first podium since coming out of retirement. The 40-year-old came second in the super-G at the World Cup finals in March to become the oldest female Alpine skier to make the podium of a World Cup race – by six years. It was Vonn's first World Cup podium finish since March 15, 2018 when she placed third in the super-G in Åre, Sweden. Vonn retired from skiing in February 2019 but announced last year she would be returning to the sport after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in April 2024. It's fair to say even Vonn didn't think she would return to this level of skiing. 'Never in a million years would I have ever expected to be back here,' she said speaking at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. 'I mean, when I saw you last, it was emotional because I was ending my career and that was it. 'That was the end, and I definitely wish that it hadn't been the end because I love skiing and it's always been my passion since I was a kid, but my body was no longer cooperating. 'Thankfully with this partial knee replacement, now I'm lucky enough to have the chance again – and, hopefully, another Olympics next year.' Stepping onto that podium was a sliding doors moment in Vonn's return to the sport she still loves so much. She admitted there were doubts in her own mind about her decision to make a comeback during a brutal season. Vonn said she weighed 20 pounds less than her previous competition weight, wasn't 'nearly as strong as I was before' and had to deal with new equipment, coaches and trainers. At times, Vonn admitted the challenges thrown at her felt 'insurmountable' and said 'it is hard to quantify' just how important getting back onto the podium was for her belief. 'I think that it changes everything,' she explained to CNN. 'I think there are a lot of people that thought that I would never be back and I would never be successful again – and I think that I proved to myself, and to them, that I still deserve to be here, no matter if I will be 41 at the next Olympics. 'I cried. I think that (podium) was the hardest I've ever cried after a race because it just was so emotional and it meant so much to me – and, actually, I'm going to put it next to my Olympic medal because that's how much it means to me. 'I've never had so many different variables in one season, and I felt like every weekend it was something new, some new challenge was just being thrown at me. And sometimes, I felt like I was beat down and it was hard to find the motivation because I was doing this because I love ski racing, but at times this season, it felt like it was insurmountable.' Even after so many years away from the sport, Vonn said skiing after her comeback still 'feels exactly the same.' Her vast experience and knowledge of the tracks, she explained to CNN Sports, helps level the playing field against competitors 'half my age' that would enjoy a physical advantage over the quadragenarian skier. Initially, Vonn said she wasn't skiing to 'prove anything to anybody' but that changed when she heard 'so many negative voices from my peers' during the season. 'That really hurt me and, by the end, I knew that I could do it for myself, but I also wanted to prove it for every 40 year old woman you know that we are not defined by our age,' Vonn said. 'We're defined by our ability and our work ethic, and I worked as hard as I could to be back to where I got to, and that's why I felt like I needed to do it to prove to women that we could. 'I love the sport. Like nothing will change it no matter what I do. From the time I was seven years old and I started racing, it's always been the thing that I just feel the most alive doing.'
