The U.S. Ski Team had one fantastic season. For the first time ever, three Americans took home five of the 12 globes. Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller took the overall titles, with Ted Ligety taking the giant slalom crown, Vonn the downhill and Miller the super combined. Plum sat in on a press interview with the new champion Lindsey Vonn and the 1983 overall world cup champion, Tamara McKinney. Here is what these two ski stars had to say.
What is going on in your mind?
LV: Going into the season my biggest goal was just the downhill title. That’s been a big dream of mine since I met Picabo, since I was nine years old and it’s my favorite event. And over the past years, I’ve gradually made progress and I think I just continued to build and this year I reached a point where I was comfortable and confident, I was skiing 90-95 percent and still having great races…this year it all seems to all come to a point where it is going well and I don’t have to think about it.
What point did it sink in that winning the overall title was a possibility?
LV: To be honest, I don’t think it sank in until the GS and Slalom were canceled and I was going to Crans-Montana. I had a pretty good lead at that point and in Crans I came into form with 150 point lead…I was still pretty nervous that others could catch up but I tried to stay calm and focus, even after the downhill was canceled in Bormio I was definitely nervous….when I skied the super G I realized that it was just the right time.
Tamara, could you put into context what happened today in terms of the success of the US team as it relates to when you were dominating 25 years ago?
TM: Well, I would have to honestly say, if you want to talk about what happened today you should talk to Lindsey and the rest of the team…but it is great to see another generation being able to get up there and be consistently at the top because you know skiing is not the number one sport in America, but you can win if you have the love and the talent and the equipment…great for them and great for the sport of skiing and we are behind them all the way.
Now that you achieved your goal of the DH globe and World Cup Overall, if you worry about burn out or not having anything more to strive for?
LV: I definitely don’t think ill run out of gas any time soon. I’m only 23 and there is still a lot left to accomplish. One thing I’m good at is goal setting and I will definitely come up with some more goals and I think next year I’ll just continue to try to work hard and to do the same thing, to get a downhill, a super G gold and maybe an overall.
TM: Again, great job to the team…the way to get to the title is getting up and doing your job every day. Being really well prepared and loving what you do and then having the confidence that you know you can win on any given day and it doesn’t have to be a perfect out of body experience to win it is just right there in reach. It sounds like Lindsey got there pretty solidly this year early on…As for as burn out, just winning the overall is not an end all because skiing is one of those sports where there is always someone who is a little better at something…I used to train next to the men and see they were doing the slalom a little better and thinking I could do that.
When you were young and on the team, say 2002, when Bode Miller won a couple of medals, but not a lot else was going on, how did you feel and how does it feel to be an American today?
LV: I think it has been a huge step forward since Bode won the Olympics. Our team just has so much more depth right now with Ted wining and Bode. And Julia has had great seasons and number of people get podiums, like Mark and Scott…We just continue to push each other and we gain a lot of positive momentum from each other and once we get that kind of excitement it definitely helps with every race…It gets the ball rolling and it just gets faster and faster and that’s what we have done as a team, everyone has their own goal but at the same time we all want to win.
Tamara, how do you get a globe back on a plane?
TM: Airlines are a little tougher now than when I brought mine back. They tried to take it away from me because it was too big….I don’t know what I did but you can always try to threaten them with an arm wrestle or tackle a flight attendant….in 1981 the coaches used it for a champagne goblet.
How do you feel about your crash at the Turin Olympics? Is that in your mind and how did you get over that?
LV: Something that I do well, I don’t ever look back on crashes. I have crashed a lot in my career and it never really keeps me down. I get up and look forward to skiing as soon as I can. The Olympics were the worst as far as pain and I think I was really motivated to get back out there and try to race in the Olympics. They only come every four years and I didn’t want to practice all that time for nothing. I just wanted to race. Didn’t matter at the time how much pain I was in so I managed to escape from the hospital and get back on the slopes.
What does it means for young racers coming up in the sport to have role models like you, Ted and Bode?
LV: It’s definitely important. Picabo Street was my idol and when she was racing she was the Bode Miller of her time…she brought a lot of attention to ski racing and I think that helps bring kids up and into the sport. They have someone to look up to and have a role model. Every sport needs someone from their own country to inspire them and push them and hopefully we are doing that…Not just for ski racing, but just to get kids out there skiing. I think it will definitely help.
What are your thoughts on being part of history? On knowing that you are in the record book as a US winner?
LV: I still cannot even believe it. I have always looked at the record book and thought, ‘wow these people are amazing, I hope one day, maybe I’ll get to the point.’ I just have such respect for anyone that has accomplished an overall title or a gold medal and I can’t even believe that I am at this point right now in my career. It’s a very pleasant surprise…Now that I am here it is everything that I hoped it would be.
Curious about heading into the season, how many races did you have this year where you put it all together and can you compare that to previous years?
LV: I think every time I won in the downhill I felt like my run was pretty good. I felt it was solid. I didn’t make mistakes and that’s a big step from last year. Last year I had a lot of fast runs but I couldn’t keep it together for the whole run. I’d make one or two big mistakes…Now I’m much more consistent and being able to have clean, solid runs has been the difference…I think it has been a progression over the years, more experience, learning the courses, and being smarter, knowing where I can risk a lot, where I have to be more conservative…Also my husband has been with me the whole season and that has made a huge difference as far as emotionally stability and the pressures of it all. It’s been pretty crazy this year and he has definitely been the rock in my life.
Ted Ligety said it was better than Olympic gold, and a lot of Americans don’t follow that, how do you view it?
LV: It’s tough because Americans focus on the Olympics and I always feel that it’s my number one goal, but to be honest this overall title is much much much harder to accomplish and to win because it is over the entire season. You have to be consistent, strong, in shape, and prepared whereas in the Olympics it is just one day and everything can happen – wind, rain or snow – there are so many different variables, Unfortunately America only pays attention to that, but hopefully our recent success will give it more coverage... It is really hard and a really amazing accomplishment. It is just incredible for the whole team.
A year ago, you were sidelined for the last race of the season? What did you do during that time or were you away?
LV: I paid attention in some regard, looking at the results, but I couldn’t watch the races because I was just so sad that I wasn’t there. It was one of the hardest things for me to do was to be at home and not to be racing and I think being away for those last few races last season definitely gave me more motivation for this season. This little extra determination over the summer for rehab on my knee and I took positive things from it. I turned it around, worked hard and got back to where I left off and started off with a great season.
As you go into the next year, will you change your training or just go with what works?
Downhill will be my number one focus. But I have more to do in Super G and I think I’ll continue to work hard on that and hopefully next year I can get more points. I think I’ll go with the same approach as this year, training and making sure that I’m not wearing myself down….It is a fine line, a tough balance, and I continue to work hard …Hopefully next year I’ll have a better start number and try to tap in there again…This year I had really good speed in slalom but not consistent and I know I can be on the podium but I just have to make it to the finish, which seems pretty hard for me these days.
Congratulations to Lindsey and the entire U.S. Ski Team!
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