After two Olympic gold medals, nine WC medals and 36 World Cup victories, Aksel Lund Svindal felt finished as a professional downhill skier. After the WC in Åre 2019, he made common cause with one of the world’s best female skaters of all time and retired.
But now he’s back there wearing an American flag cap and posting about equipment, technology and Lindsey Vonn’s broken knee.
A phone call in the fall 2024 changed everything and nowadays he is part of Vonn’s inner circle as a coach. They have known each other for over 20 years and skied the same ski brand.
– We had talked a little earlier in the year and now she called and wondered if I couldn’t watch some videos and say what I thought, Svindal says when DN meets him in the Olympic city.
And what did you think?
– I saw that there were things in her riding that could be corrected quite quickly.
Like for example?
– It was a combination of technology and equipment that made it difficult for her to do the right things. The knees were not parallel and there was a lack of symmetry. The balance was a big problem and then there were several smaller ones, but if you don’t have the balance, the other things can’t be corrected, he explains.
Svindal is analytical laid and so is Vonn. He believes that is the decisive reason why she was able to correct the mistakes so quickly and start going faster.
– I didn’t tell her to do this, you will go faster. I gave her the full analysis and why I came to that conclusion. Because of a, b, c and d you should do this and she liked it. She trusts the facts and then she gasses.
In interviews, Vonn has praised the Norwegian and his alpine eye.
– He sees things that I never thought of. That’s why I have him, because I want to learn. I want to get better, says Vonn to olympics.com.
Svindal is happy to be able to help.
– This is what I have a lot of knowledge about and it’s great fun to be able to use it, he says.
Have you missed being part of the alpine circus?
– Even if you think something is fun, that doesn’t mean you have to do it for the rest of your life. But it’s fun to come back like this. I always thought the preseason was fun. Testing equipment and doing good analyses, so this project suits me perfectly, he says, adding that he never considered a comeback of his own.
Vonn’s return was on track until the crash in the Olympic high ropes course in Crans-Montana on Friday. Svindal says he feared the worst when the American was taken to hospital and her left knee was x-rayed.
– The pictures showed that it was such an injury that you need to operate quite quickly, but already on day three the swelling started to go down and that’s how it is with injuries like this that you can be lucky in your bad luck, says Svindal, who during his long career himself had several serious injuries.
To stabilize the knee, Vonn will ride with a splint and Svindal has regained hope that she will be able to race for the medals on Sunday.
What makes Lindsey Vonn such a great skier?
– She is tough and she has an extremely high work ethic. What impresses me the most is her head and mental strength and that is something she will benefit from now. It’s not fun to be at the start of an Olympics with a knee injury, but her attitude means she can fix it, says Svindal.
Read more:
The doctor after Vonn’s message: “Wouldn’t even think of going to the toboggan run”
Cruciate ligament injury Vonn refuses to give up the gold dream
