Lindsey Vonn Appears To Put An End To Drama On The Slopes With Mikaela Shiffrin
Who knew Lindsey Vonn's return to skiing was going to bring drama to the slopes? It apparently has, however, she did her best on Sunday morning to quiet the noise.
She came out firing on all cylinders after announcing that she was coming out of retirement back in November. Not just with her skis on either. We're talking body paint throwbacks and sparring with marine biologists over starfish bikini content.
That's when I realized that this comeback wasn’t about simply going through the motions. The 40-year-old and her titanium knee weren't going to be conducting business silently.
That said, who could have seen Vonn's return after a nearly six-year absence involve some high-level drama with the skier who replaced her as the best in the sport, Mikaela Shiffrin.
Drama between one of the best skiers of all-time and the one who blew past her shortly after injuries cut her career short? That's what happened.
Earlier this month, friction between the two resurfaced. Vonn had expressed interest in teaming up with Shiffrin for a brand-new combined event that features two skiers taking on other teams in the downhill and slalom, with each member competing in one of the races.
Shiffrin holds the record for the most slalom wins, while Vonn has the most in the downhill. The two would make a great team. Vonn said in January, "It’s 181 World Cup wins between the two of us. I’ve told my coaches that I want to."
Lindsey Vonn was nothing but a great teammate after Mikaela Shiffrin added another World Cup to her win column
Shortly after making the statement, Shiffrin announced that she wouldn’t be participating in the team combined event. She then changed her mind and teamed up with downhill world champion Breezy Johnson.
That didn’t sit well with Vonn and that's when the drama started to heat up. She said she was excited for Breezy and Mikaela, but also "disappointed in the way it was handled."
Vonn fired off, then deleted a tweet that read, "Why am I not surprised?" along with the shrug emoji. That's melt the snow on the slopes level of drama there.
It turns out that the snub wasn’t on the part of Shiffrin. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. team’s coaching staff decided who should compete based on "season-best results" in both events.
But that's all water under the bridge now. Vonn issued an apology of sorts on social media and then over the weekend appeared to have put an end to the drama following Mikaela Shiffrin's 100th World Cup win.
On Sunday morning, she played the role of a great teammate by congratulating the best skier in the game on social media for her "Epic achievement."
Lindsey Vonn reacts to Mikaela Shiffrin's 100th World Cup win. (Image Credit: Lindsay Vonn/Instagram Story)
That's how you put an end to the drama, for now anyway. Will there be more Vonn-Shiffrin tension? Let's hope so. There's nothing wrong with some competition between teammates.
Some healthy back-and-forth with subtle passive-aggressive digs as one skier continues her quest to bury the other in the record books and the other one does all she can to dig her way out of the hole she's been put in.
How can you not respect that kind of passion and drama on the slopes? Let them compete anywhere all the time.