Lindsey Vonn says Austrian coaches apologized to her for weight comment

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Lindsey Vonn says Austrian coaches have apologized to her for saying she had an advantage over other skiers because she weighs more.

Austrian media last week reported that Vonn, the reigning downhill and overall World Cup champion, would have an advantage in speed events because she was carrying additional weight.

Vonn said the comments served as motivation when she won a trio of World Cup races, dominating three days of speed racing in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, last weekend.

Vonn said in a teleconference Monday that she takes pride in being fit and fast and “if weight were the key to success in ski racing, then everyone would be stuffing their faces with food.”

“I just think it’s pretty ridiculous and it definitely irritated me and it definitely gave me a little bit of extra motivation on race day,” Vonn said. “But, you know, I think in all fairness, I think it was an exaggeration on the journalists’ part on the comments of the Austrian coaches. I mean, the Austrian coaches actually apologized to me.

“And as a woman, I kind of want to drop the subject if I can. But to me, I pride myself on my work ethic, how hard I work in the gym and I give everything to my sport, I work incredibly hard and for someone to say that I’m overweight is just completely ridiculous in my mind,” Vonn added.

-- Houston Mitchell