Alpine skiing (dowhill): Vonn on Olympic gold street after downhill win

Whistler (AFP) - Lindsey Vonn was warned her Olympic rivals that now she has a first gold medal in the bag, more could follow.

Vonn brushed off the pain of a recent shin injury to make Olympic women's downhill history for the United States after blitzing bumpy Franz's Run in 1min 44.19sec on Wednesday.

Ahead of Thursday's super-combined and the super-G on Saturday, events in which she is expected to medal, the 25-year-old said the pressure is now off.

"I came here, I got what I came here to do, I got a gold medal," an ecstatic Vonn said.

"I have what I want and I'll just keep fighting every day. It's definitely a huge relief that I finally did it. This is everything that I ever wanted and hoped for."

It was the first ever downhill win by an American woman at the Olympics, and the first in a speed event since her childhood hero Picabo Street won super-G gold in Nagano in 1998.

She added: "Meeting Picabo when I was nine was one of the reasons why I wanted to be an Olympian. It's been a really long journey since that ski shop in Minnesota. She really inspired me."

While Vonn's victory was largely expected, teammate Julia Mancuso came in under the radar by scorching to a deserved silver medal 0.56sec behind Vonn and ahead of Elisabeth Goergl of Austria, who won bronze.

Mancuso has lived in Vonn's shadow since the 2006 Games in Turin, where she won the giant slalom gold.

And despite returning to competition this season after being sidelined with a back injury for long periods last year, she said only a real Olympic effort had given her the chance of a medal.

"It's pretty incredible to be here, in Whistler in North America with Lindsey first, and me second," said Mancuso.

"For me it's just living our dreams, it's something we've both dreamed about forever. It's been a long journey. It just goes to show you can do anything you put your mind to and believe in yourself."

Goergl admitted she might not have won a medal at all if Sweden's Anja Paerson had not crashed seconds away from the finish line as she raced towards the silver.

"When I saw the crash I was crying. It's always hard when someone crashes but Anja is a friend of mine and we were training together this year," said Goergl.

"If she had gone to the finish line I would not have been third."

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• Alpine
• skiing
• dowhill
• Vonn
• on
• Olympic
• gold
• street
• after
• downhill
• win
• Lindsey
• 2010

[cuervogold247]

I fucking hate you.