Mom: Lindy Lund
Athlete: Lindsey Vonn
Sport: Skiing
There are certain names that bring “rock-star-status” with them at the Winter Olympics. Skier Lindsey Vonn is one of them.
She's the most decorated women's skier in World Cup racing history.
“She deserves it. She works so hard. She's been working since she was 8,” Vonn's mother, Lindy Lund, said.
It was about that age Lindy Lund saw a switch flip with her oldest daughter, when she took her to an autograph session with U.S. Skiing sensation Picabo Street.
"Everybody was in line, it took maybe an hour to get an autograph, and she was just so impressed,” Lund recalled. "That changed her life, that's what she wanted to do, she wanted to be Picabo."
Over time Lund has seen Vonn eclipse every U.S. skier to come before her and watches most all of Lindsey’s races late at night live streamed online, although sometimes she wishes she hadn’t.
Lund says she never gets used to seeing her daughter ski down the hill at breakneck speeds.
"It's very scary, yeah," Lund explained.
Going into the PyeongChang Olympics though, Vonn is healthy and ready to rip. Something her mom sees too.
"She's the strongest I've seen her," Lund described.
Vonn has her sights set beyond Korea even.
She is the winningest female in World Cup history with 81 career wins, but her mom says it’s the men’s record of 86 by Ingemar Stenmark that Vonn is after next.
And while Lindsey credits her love of skiing to her dad, she says her toughness comes from her mom.
