Worlds: Vonn's morning with a bum thumb

Val d’Isere, France – Despite her crash in the second run of the World Championship slalom on Saturday, anyone can see that an injured thumb isn’t going to set Lindsey Vonn back too much. However, while it doesn’t appear to slow her down on the race course, Vonn’s thumb is putting some hiccups into her routine. To hear her talk about what it took just to compete in Saturday’s race paints a pretty clear picture.

First of all, since slicing her thumb on a broken champagne bottle after winning her second World Championship gold medal on Monday and subsequently undergoing surgery for a torn tendon, Vonn hasn’t been able to dress herself. Husband Thomas Vonn has taken over that duty, also helping out with other getting-ready-for-the-day stuff like putting on make-up.

But getting into ski racing attire and arriving on time to the final event of the 2009 World Championships was another dilemma.Val d’Isere, France – Despite her crash in the second run of the World Championship slalom on Saturday, anyone can see that an injured thumb isn’t going to set Lindsey Vonn back too much. However, while it doesn’t appear to slow her down on the race course, Vonn’s thumb is putting some hiccups into her routine. To hear her talk about what it took just to compete in Saturday’s race paints a pretty clear picture.

First of all, since slicing her thumb on a broken champagne bottle after winning her second World Championship gold medal on Monday and subsequently undergoing surgery for a torn tendon, Vonn hasn’t been able to dress herself. Husband Thomas Vonn has taken over that duty, also helping out with other getting-ready-for-the-day stuff like putting on make-up.

But getting into ski racing attire and arriving on time to the final event of the 2009 World Championships was another dilemma.

“I was struggling all morning,” Vonn said after the first run in Saturday’s slalom, which, by all appearances, was flawless. “It was tough. I was spazzing. I gave myself an extra 30, 45 minutes just to get everything on. I was freaking out that I was going to miss inspection because I was late. It took me longer to get on than I thought.”

Also, the crash she took that finished her World Championships was not her first that day.

“I got to inspection, I ran over to warm up, I almost slipped on the ice going to warm up. I crashed in warm up – my hand was dragging on the ground. It did not feel good,” Vonn said. “And then we realized I couldn’t get my jacket off with my glove taped on, so I had to take everything off and put everything back on again and put my arm inside my jacket. I barely made it up to the start on time. I was up there when the first forerunner was going. Normally I’m like 20 minutes before.”

Her routine came together more easily on the race course.

“The start was a little awkward,” she said of her first run. “I couldn’t really put my pole down so I had to like hold it to the side. Once I got in the start, I kicked out and the first two gates I was kind of feeling it out. After that I got in the rhythm. I have to hit the gate differently on my pole so it doesn’t hurt my hand as much. Once I got that down, I felt like things were easier and I could focus more on the course. I think the adrenaline blocked out most of the pain, but yeah, it was tough. I just tried my best to ski like I know how and forget that I have a thumb.”
 
Once getting down to the finish area, Vonn was at a momentary loss as to how to get her skis off and in hand …  her good hand. Her injured hand had a glove and pole duct-taped to it.

“Yeah, I was like, ‘is someone going to come help me?’ They’re looking at me like, what do you need help for?” Vonn said. “I’m like, ‘No please, my hand … it’s taped to my pole.’ It was pretty funny.”

Though her championships didn’t finish in an ideal fashion, Vonn knows that skiing without one thumb isn’t going to slow her down much. If she can do it in slalom – which she said from the beginning would be the most difficult discipline to manage with her injury – she can handle everything else.

“I know I’m skiing well,” she said after her first slalom run. “I know my slalom is good. Just with the thumb it’s like, can I ski like I have been? I think the answer is yes. It’s just a little bit awkward. My right hand probably weighs like two pounds more because of all the duct tape I have on, but all in all, it’s not so bad. I just have to be mentally tough and not think about my thumb.”