Schladming, Austria – Lindsey Vonn charged the sun-softened Schladming downhill to win the 53rd Audi FIS Alpine World Cup of her career today and edge closer to toppling Austrian Hermann Maier’s single season record of 2,000 points that has stood for the last 12 years.

The women’s single season record held by Croatian Janica Kostelic with 1,970 points during the 2006 season. With Wednesday’s victory Vonn, of Vail, Colo., sits at 1,908 points and also notched her 12th win of the season, surpassing her own American record set in 2009, and her 17th podium result this winter, one short of the single-season record co-owned by Hanni Wenzel of Lichtenstein and Sweden’s Pernilla Wiberg.

“I love hearing the national anthem. It always means something special to me,” said Vonn, who added, “I feel like I have heard the national anthem a lot this year and it has been great.”

Today’s podium was completed by France’s Marion Rolland, who earned the silver medal, and Tina Maze of Slovenia with the bronze.

Long known for her dedication to her sport and her unparalleled work ethic, Vonn’s string of successes this year appears to have allowed her to relax a bit more this season.

“There have been a lot of points in my life where I have realized certain things. I think my crash in Torino was a turning point in my career and I think this season in general has been a turning point for me personally, just realizing you can have a lot of fun and still be serious,” she admitted. “I am having so much fun out there and I am hanging out with the girls on the team and I am just more relaxed this year and I have really enjoyed everything. I have enjoyed every day, not just podiums and not just winning – of course its nice – but just being able to do what I love is the best. Just going out there and doing what you love to do everyday is a privilege.”

After the race, Vonn officially received her fifth consecutive World Cup downhill crystal globe, which she secured a month earlier on the 2014 Olympic slope in Sochi, Russia.

In a strong downhill finish for the U.S. Ski Team, Olympic Valley, Calif.’s Julia Mancuso was sixth, Alice McKennis of Glenwood Springs, Colo. finished a career best seventh and Laurenne Ross, of Bend, Ore., crossed the finish line in 15th. The U.S. women’s downhill team, which also includes Mammoth Lakes, Calif.’s Stacey Cook and Leanne Smith, of North Conway, N.H., won the nation’s downhill standings by 636 points over Austria. With only the top 25 skiers ranked in each discipline qualifying for the World Cup Finals, no Canadian women were entered in Wednesday’s downhill.

The World Cup Finals continue Thursday with women’s super G. Vonn, Mancuso and Smith will start for the U.S. Ski Team. Canadian women qualified only in slalom. Vonn leads the super G standings by 94 points and a title win would be the 16th of her career.

“Today was a big step and, if all goes perfectly well, hopefully tomorrow I can win again and try to close this record and reach a dream I didn’t even think was possible,” said Vonn.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
Audi FIS Alpine World Cup
World Cup Finals – Schladming, Austria – Mar. 14, 2012
Women’s Downhill