In the wee hours of the Park City Friday morning, local skiing legend Lindsey Vonn was making more history. Vonn dominated the field in the St. Moritz World Cup downhill race, notching her 83rd race win at that level.  Vonn used her sharp turns and speed to gain an advantage in the steeper section of the St. Moritz course on Friday. She then carried that speed through the bottom section of the course to stamp her finishing time of 1:29.63. Second place Magdalena Egger of Austria crossed the finish line almost a full second (0.98) behind Vonn.  The Parkite knew the win was in the cards after a strong offseason, when she added muscle in the gym, sorted out her equipment setup and added fellow skiing legend Aksel Lund Svindal to her coaching team. She toppled the field again in Wednesday’s training day, putting them on notice.  Vonn hadn’t topped a World Cup podium since the spring of 2018, before she first retired. She’s now the oldest winner at the level by four years. Vonn will strap her skis back on and enter the St. Moritz starting gate for one final downhill race on Saturday. The 41 year old is set to call it quits for good following the Milan Olympics in February.  “We worked really hard,” Vonn told FIS following the historic win. “Not just me, but my whole team.” Vonn said she was confident hitting the gate on Friday, but acknowledged race day can be a different beast. She added that she “made some mistakes,” and so she’s even more fired up for the potential to get everything right on Saturday.  “I’m excited for tomorrow,” she added. “It’s a long weekend with three races. … I’m just gonna try to get some sleep tonight and hopefully be ready for tomorrow.” Vonn said she’ll continue to execute the game plan she, Lund Svindal and the rest of her coaching team have laid out. She also expressed excitement for Sunday’s super-G race, where she said her training times have been the quickest.  “It’s a very exciting time,” Vonn said.  Lund Svindal told TNT Sports after the race that he didn’t initially think Vonn’s times were good enough. He said she won the race in the bottom sections, adding that she’s an underrated turner.  “I knew that we were well-prepared and could fight for the win,” Lund Svindal told TNT Sports. “But then seeing the first splits, I figured we’re going to be behind. … The way she caught up on the bottom part is unbelievable.” Lund Svindal said a key to Vonn’s approach was keeping strategy simple. She joked with him that he sounded convincing with his approach, so she trusted him. Lund Svindal admitted he was more nervous than he anticipated being in his first race as a coach. He retired at the same 2019 World Championships that Vonn originally did with 36 World Cup wins and two Olympic gold medals to his name.  “That’s good,” Lund Svindal said about his pre-race jitters. “Just means it matters, right?” Lund Svindal noticed how Vonn switches into an intense race mode. He joked that that’s why she has 83 World Cup race wins.  Vonn said her new coach’s “calm” energy and expertise is extremely helpful for her. Next on her agenda in this final season is gunning for more wins and maximizing her skiing. She joked that fellow skiing legend Ingemar Stenmark told her awhile ago that she’d eclipse his longstanding World Cup victories record, which the greatest-of-all-time Mikaela Shiffrin did in 2023, and now it’s her time to do so.  “Now, I guess I’ll have to prove him right,” Vonn said. “There’s so many numbers, and it’s been a lot of years, but it’s always fun. … Obviously, it’s a lot nicer when you’re winning.” The post Lindsey Vonn wins her 83rd World Cup race in St. Moritz on Friday appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less