Lindsey Vonn fails to fire at Beaver Creek

BEAVER CREEK, United States - Agence France-Presse

US skier Lindsey Vonn clears a gate during the second run of the 2015 World Alpine Ski Championships women's giant slalom on February 12, 2015 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. AFP Photo

American star Lindsey Vonn was left high and dry in the hunt for gold at the Alpine skiing World Championships.
      
The magical form that carried Vonn through her brilliant comeback from two serious knee injuries this World Cup season deserted her in the biennial championships in front of her home crowd.
      
"I don't know, I was hoping for something special again in these worlds," said Vonn. "I wanted to do well too much. Things just didn't really work out. No matter how hard I tried it wasn't working.
      
"But I never gave up."       

Vonn finished 14th in Thursday's giant slalom -- her final race of the 2015 worlds where she captured just a single bronze medal in super-G.
      
Vonn leads the World Cup downhill and super-G standings and was favoured to win in those disciplines but continued knee problems, difficult course setups and icy tracks thwarted her chances of winning a gold medal.
      
Vonn, who recently became the winningest woman in World Cup history, couldn't hide her disappointment at times. She fought back tears in the finish area after a sub-par downhill leg in Monday's super-combined.
      
"There are small positives. I have one medal. I am proud of that," she said.        

Vonn finished 27th in the first leg of the giant slalom, putting her more than two seconds behind eventual winner Anna Fenninger.
      
She said she felt like she was skiing on cement.
      
"I just started kind of chundering and I couldn't stop the skis from going away from me and I was pretty much stopped," she said.
      
Vonn's golf legend boyfriend Tiger Woods was in Beaver Creek to watch her ski Thursday and had some advice for her in between giant slalom runs.
      
"He said 'Let's end on positive note. Let's show them what you can do,'" Vonn said.
      
The 2010 Olympic gold medallist in Vancouver tore ligaments in her right knee and broke a bone in her leg during the 2013 Worlds in Schladming, Austria.
      
Vonn said unusually warm weather in the Colorado Rockies the last two weeks resulted in icy conditions that didn't suit her style of skiing.
      
"I haven't had any problems with my knee all season long except when I got on ice," Vonn said. "I haven't skied on ice over the last three years.
      
"My knee doesn't like it when it is super bumpy. I tried my best to overcome that.
      
"It's hard when you have been injured so long. I tried my best but I am happy with my performance. Obviously I didn't get any of the medals I had hoped, but I can still be proud of myself."