CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Through hell or high water, Lindsey Vonn would make it to the start gates of the 2026 Olympic downhill, and the same went for her fans. From all around the world, and then a few winding shuttle bus rides later, the crowd arrived ready to watch her Olympic downhill run at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center Sunday morning. By 9 a.m., the Tofane skiing venue was already humming. Gucci snow suits brushed past fur coats. Polizia in ski boots and police uniform ski suits lined the course. The event’s Italian emcee worked the finish area, while spectators danced for the broadcast cameras. In a massive red suede Tyrolean hat, the man sang “Volare” over the microphone along with the loudspeakers, trying to rile up the crowd gathered in the hours leading up to the women’s downhill. Notably, very few of the early spectators waved the host country’s green, white and red flag.  “Italians tend to be late, except for this race,” joked the commentator. “They’ll arrive three or four minutes before the start. They might be here by 11:30. We shall see.” Still, in the standing section of the finish line, people from around the world, and across the USA, had arrived more than three hours early to claim their spot close to the barricade. While the task turned out to be a bit fruitless, given the wide open space available even as the race drew near, the crowd was only eager to take it all in.   Stefan and Jane Bledig were there early, hoping to see Lindsey Vonn ski on the world stage. They had traveled from St. Louis, Missouri, to see their first-ever Olympic event and donned every flag, T-shirt and piece of Team USA gear they could find.  Still freshly creased from the factory, they waved their Olympic USA flag with friends they made on the sidelines, taking pictures with everyone they met from around the world, even one reporter from Park City. “We’re looking out for Lindsey Vonn here today,” Stefan said. “And Breezy Johnson, too.” He said the trip felt like the culmination of decades of winter sports fandom. For Stefan, his love of the Olympic spirit began with Franz Klammer’s downhill gold medal victory in the 1976 Innsbruck Olympic Games. He’s still emotional to this day remembering watching Klammer’s race in junior high. He said it was a moment that he will never forget.  “It got me hooked on skiing. It got me hooked on winter sports,” said Stefan.  Fans of American skiers help fill the grandstands in Cortina, Italy, for the women’s downhill Sunday. Credit: David Jackson/ Park Record Ten years earlier, the Bledigs were traveling in Alberta, Canada, when they stumbled into a World Cup sliding event and ran into the U.S. bobsled team over lunch.  “They told us their favorite track in the world was St. Moritz,” Stefan said. “The oldest one, the only natural one. They said the ambiance was incredible. And then they told us tourists could ride it.” It has been a full decade since that conversation, Jane marveled. And finally, they will be riding the St. Moritz bobsled track this week.  “We’re not getting any younger,” said Jane. “We’re finally doing it.” For Heather Dernlan and her son, Cade, the Olympics have always been a family obsession. “This is our first Winter Olympics,” she said. “I grew up in California and went to the LA Summer Games, and we’re going back again in 2028. But I’ve never seen the Winter Games.” Despite the early hour and the challenges of getting between the house they were staying in two towns over, and then the feat of overcoming the nauseating, winding bus ride up the mountain to the venue, Cade brought the energy by way of red-striped overalls, full face paint, USA glasses — you name it. Heather wore a classic Austrian alpine sweater from the Nagano Games, fitting right in with the crowd of Tyroleans from all around Europe who had come to support their skiers.  “This is the thing I’m here for,” said Cade. “To see Lindsey Vonn again, especially after the ACL hurdle, it’s pretty awesome to see her give it another shot.” Tina, the Olympic mascot, mingles with the crowd before the start of the women’s downhill Sunday. Credit: David Jackson/ Park Record Though the Olympic downhill was their main event, the Dernlans said they have a special place in their heart for the underrepresented sports, especially curling. They admitted they couldn’t necessarily explain the rules, but neither, they joked, could most people.  That didn’t stop anyone from bringing the energy to Saturday night’s match, where enthusiasm and support mattered far more than the game itself.  “We don’t really know what’s happening,” Heather said with a laugh. “But I love it so much. It’s like chess on ice.” Cade said the Estonian supporters stood out in particular, filling the arena with flags, cowbells and coordinated chants that overpowered even the announcers.  “They were so well represented. They had their flags everywhere, cowbells. The Estonians really rocked it,” Heather agreed.  Hoping to turn themselves into something of a good luck charm, Cade promised to show up to Sunday night’s match with some American chants of his own.  Travis Escobedo and Grace Crandall came to Cortina from Connecticut to watch the downhill with their kids, Ava and Samuel. Grace, a former Dartmouth ski racer who captained the team in 2005 and competed at national junior championships, said Cortina felt like the perfect place to introduce her kids to skiing’s biggest stage. “As soon as they announced it was coming back to the Alps, I said I would be here,” Crandall said. “And once we knew Lindsey would be here, we said, ‘OK, now we’re all going.’” For the couple, the chance to experience something new with their children made the day even more meaningful, especially when it also meant taking a European ski trip alongside it. “This is just a perfect place to ski as a family, and to bring our children to experience. I think skiing in Europe is unparalleled, and this is an epic venue,” said Crandall.  Escobedo added: “And really, Lindsey dominates Cortina so well, and that definitely went into the calculus to get here.” Lindsey Vonn’s aunt Lisa Krohn, far right, from Edina, Minnesota, was on hand to watch the women’s downhill Sunday. Martina Sailer, center, is the daughter of Austrian ski legend Toni Sailer. She and her two daughters, Greta and Lulu, as well as her husband, Jesse Cook, came from Golden Valley, Minnesota. Credit: David Jackson/ Park Record Vonn’s reputation on the course precedes her. Over the loudspeakers, the emcee cheered for “Cortina’s princess,” a nod to the course where she built much of her legacy and returned once more, chasing one final Olympic downhill. Vonn’s family agreed.  “I feel so confident,” said Lisa Krohn, Vonn’s maternal aunt. “I just know she can do it. And even with a bum knee, she can do it. She’s just amazing.” “Just seeing her from a little kid all the way here, she’s so determined and worked so hard,” Krohn added. “I think that’s what propelled her to the greatness she has, because she works harder than anyone else I’ve ever known.” Krohn, who lives in Edina, Minnesota, arrived at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center as soon as the gates opened and had already been standing for more than three hours by midmorning. She acknowledged the week had been difficult following Vonn’s Jan. 30 crash, the pain, the uncertainty of racing, but said Vonn felt better than anyone expected. “She’s had a hard week, but I’m amazed that she’s felt so good after mangling that knee,” Krohn said. “She’s used to skiing in pain, so I don’t think it’s anything new to her. She’s just back to being a little bit painful.” Vonn’s father, Alan Kildow, said he was just as confident. This course was made for Lindsey, he said. “She is ready for this,” he said. “The last few days, she’s been preparing. It was stressful coming through the injury, but I think she’s ready, and I’m confident.” Alan Kildow, Lindsey Vonn’s father, before the race at the 2026 Olympics at Tofane. Credit: David Jackson/ Park Record Laura Kildow, Lindsey’s sister, has watched nearly every version of this moment before, attending the Games in Salt Lake City, Vancouver, PyeongChang and now Cortina, but she said the emotions never dull. “Watching her race, it’s amazing,” said Kildow. “It’s inspiring, nerve-wracking, it’s exciting.”  Vanessa Cella, Vonn’s best friend from Park City, made it to her second Olympic Games after supporting Vonn in PyeongChang, South Korea, with her children, Olivia and Jackson in 2018. “We’re not hoping for anything,” she said. “We know. We’re here for the big event.” Before the start gates opened and the mountain turned loud and unforgiving, the people who knew her best stood certain that she was ready and that this hill was made for her. While the crowd of people waiting below to support Vonn did not get to see her ski to the finish on Sunday, it remains that “Cortina’s princess” drew thousands from around the world, united in support of women in sport and celebrating the Olympic spirit. The post From fur coats to finish line chants, crowds showed out for the Olympic downhill appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less