She is one of the stars of the Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010, expected to dominate the women’s downhill skiing field. She’s been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and has several lucrative tv advertising deals. But Burnsville, Minnesota’s Lindsey Vonn’s skiing origins may surprise ski fans who are accustomed to Rocky Mountain-raised skiers.
Minnesota isn’t quite flat-as-a-pancake, but it certainly has nothing close to a mountain. Yes, there’s plenty of snow about half of the year, and plenty of fine ski resorts to accommodate. Twin-Citians have enjoyed one of those—Buck Hill Ski Area—for nearly 60 years.
Vonn Learned to Ski on “Little” Buck Hill in Minnesota
Measuring a mere 310 feet in height and about 1000 feet in length, Buck Hill would encompass a tiny portion of Whistler Mountain’s Olympic downhill course, but that’s where Vonn spent her first several years learning to ski, then honing her skills. As reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Lindsey’s dad Allen Kildow (she was Lindsey Kildow until she married U.S. skier Thomas Vonn in 2007) was the longtime coach of the Buck Hill Ski Team.
Her father reported that, at a young age, when she got interested in slalom, she started slow, but was soon off to the races, as it were. Her talent became obvious enough that they moved to Vail, Colorado so that Lindsey could train and, hopefully, make the U.S. Olympic Ski Team.
Lindsey Vonn Competing in her Third Winter Olympic Games
Lindsey Vonn rose through the ranks of the U.S. Ski team after her 2000 debut at age 16. She appeared in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics where her best result was a sixth place. In the 2006 Torino Olympics, she raced badly injured, turning in a valiant performance, but not medaling.
After all the grueling years leading up to these, her third Olympics, Vonn very nearly missed her opportunity, when a training run crash shortly before the Olympics left her with a badly bruised shin. Were it not for a timely weather delay, allowing 3 extra days of recovery, Vonn would likely not have skied the Women’s downhill on Wednesday, February 17th.
Vonn, however, did compete, and won her first Olympic Gold Medal, achieving what her childhood idol Picabo Street never did. On that night, Buck Hill Ski Area in Minnesota hosted a viewing party for locals to watch and cheer on their hometown darling. They were not disappointed.
Numerous Minnesota Athletes Competing in Vancouver Olympics
Minnesotans are also cheering for several other Vancouver Olympians. All-tolled, the state has 22 athletes competing, including four in men’s hockey, three in women’s hockey, four skaters, three women’s curlers and the entire U.S. Men’s Curling Team.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
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