Latest news with #LaureusAwards
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
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Simone Biles unsure of competing at 2028 LA Olympics: ‘My body is aging'
Simone Biles says she is unsure whether she will compete at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The 28-year-old says she has other priorities, and is mindful of the demands her sport puts on her body at an age when most elite gymnasts have long since retired. Biles will be 31 when the LA Olympics start: the oldest all-around female gymnastics champion is Maria Gorokhovskaya, who won gold at the age of 30 at the 1952 Games. 'I'm really trying to enjoy life, to spend time with my husband [NFL player Jonathan Owens)], go support him at his games, live my life as a woman,' she said in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe published on Tuesday. 'I've accomplished so much in my sport. For me to come back, it would really have to excite me.' Related: Simone Biles' coach says gymnast suffered from 'twisties' before 2016 Olympics Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, says many fans underestimate the time taken in preparing for the Olympics. 'A lot of people think it's just a one-year commitment but it truly is the four years leading up to the Olympics,' she said. 'It's in LA it's back in the States, which is so exciting. But if I'm going to compete again, I'm not so sure.' Biles said she will attend the Games in LA, but is unsure in what capacity. 'Whether on the [gymnastics] apparatus or in the stands, I still don't know that,' she told L'Equipe. 'But 2028 seems so far away, and my body is aging. I felt it in Paris.' Biles won three gold medals and a silver at the Paris Olympics, taking her career tally to seven Olympic golds and 11 medals overall. But she says her body suffered under the strain. 'I went back to the [Olympic] village, I took the elevator and my body literally collapsed. I was sick for 10 days,' she said, before recounting another experience. 'The other day, we were sprinting in the garden with friends, I had aches and pains for three days. So, I honestly don't know. We'll see.' She praised her rival, Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, for recovering from injury and for 'pushing me beyond my limits,' but also said gymnastics no longer needs both of them. 'It only needs one of us, no? Especially since [Andrade] will not be alone,' Biles said. 'A young generation will knock at the door and everything will start again.' The interview took place before Monday's Laureus Awards in Madrid, where Biles was named sportswoman of the year. Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, the double Olympic champion and world record holder, was named sportsman of the year. Whatever she decides regarding her career, Biles says she will continue to speak about mental health. Biles withdrew from several events at the Tokyo Olympics, partly because she wanted to preserve her mental health. 'I am very proud of the work accomplished to reach this point,' she said, 'and I will continue to be the voice of the voiceless.'
CNN
07-05-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Neither Lindsey Vonn nor Eileen Gu are scared to fail at the Olympics
CNN — More than sporting excellence and closets stuffed full of medals, skiing legends Lindsey Vonn and Eileen Gu have something in common: perseverance in the face of failure. While Gu – who became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 at 18 – is known for her successes, they weren't always guaranteed. Gu, who competes for China, became the first woman to land a double cork 1440, and in the moment leading up to the trick, she admits she had to be OK with the idea of not being successful in her attempt. 'In this moment, if I (saw) that I'm free to try, it's going to be a story and a legacy in and of itself regardless of if I land,' Gu said speaking to CNN Sports at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. 'If I didn't land, I would be equally proud of myself for trying because what often holds women, particularly young women, back is the fear of trying – and that's what happens when girls drop out of sports precipitously from age 11 to 14. 'Really the story that I wanted to tell was: go out there, do your very best, and if you landed, awesome, but if you don't, still be proud of yourself,' she added. Now 21, Gu has her sights on her second Winter Olympics when the Games come to Milan-Cortina in 2026. Also hoping to compete is American skier Lindsey Vonn, who earlier this year came out of retirement and concluded her comeback season with a second-place finish in a World Cup super-G race. 'A lot of women and girls are afraid to try because of the fear of failure, and I've fallen a million times and I've always gotten back up, so I'm not afraid to fail at anything,' Vonn said. It is this defiance in the face of potential failure which is key to Vonn's success. The American star 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. She retired from the sport in February 2019 but announced last year she would be returning to the slopes after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in April 2024. Vonn acknowledged that there are factors that some consider detrimental to her ability to win. 'Is my age a factor? Yeah. (Are) my, are my injuries a factor? Yes, but … you've got to do what you love, and if I fail, so be it, but I always believed in myself, and it's gotten me this far,' Vonn told CNN. 'A lot of people say as they get older, the fear increases – that's your mind. Do what you set your mind to. If you believe you can't do it, then of course.' Vonn has already expressed her desire to conclude this chapter of her career at the Winter Games. She already has a record 12 World Cup wins at Cortina d'Ampezzo. She told the Associated Press that she was 'definitely am thinking about (the Olympics) and I hope that I can get there.' 'I have to keep things going and if I can make it, it would be a thrilling and a great way to kind of close the loop on my career – I guess the second chapter of my career. But I'm really trying not to think that far ahead,' she told AP. Vonn has plenty of supporters who think she has a shot at medaling again. 'I'm pretty sure Lindsey can win at least one medal,' three-time Olympic champion Maria Höfl-Riesch told CNN Sports. 'I mean she could do it in both events, of course. I think it depends on if it's working in the first one, then maybe the second one is coming easier.' Vonn said she was hopeful for herself and Gu when it came to bagging medals. 'I would say you (Eileen) got three last Olympics. My best was two and I have three potential events. So I think, on average, we should hopefully come away with three or four. I think four would be a pretty solid bet,' Vonn said.
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.'
