Hometown Skiers Vonn, Shiffrin Getting Lots Of Attention At Worlds
BEAVER CREEK SKI RESORT, Colo. (CBS4) - Lindsey Vonn has lived in Vail for the better part of two decades. That's just about as long as Mikaela Shiffrin has been alive.
Shiffrin has told CBS4 Vonn is certainly her idol, but now they're sharing the spotlight in the Vail Valley for this year's Alpine Ski World Championships.
Before the season, CBS4 had a chance to catch up with them to talk about the season ahead and what they expect from the world championships.
"As you can imagine the world championships is kind of the pinnacle of ski racing. The Olympics is the pinnacle of sports all together, but the world championships is really something that ski racers covet," Shiffrin said.
Vonn described the world championships as "really exciting."
"We're a ski racing town so this is going to be a really big event. They're going to pull out all the stops and it's going to be really exciting," Vonn said.
Vonn is peaking at the right time. She has won five races already this year, and after two years of surgeries and recovery, she's been waiting a long time for this event.
"It's going to be really fun. I was a course slipper for the 99 world championships and I remember the buzz around town was extraordinary," Vonn said.
Shiffrin raced in Aspen earlier this season with a disappointing fifth place finish, but she has won three times this season and the teen phenomenon is ready to race at the mountain that's just above the house she grew up in.
"Once I got to the level of racing World Cup I wanted to win World Cup, and once I won a World Cup I wanted to win more and then I wanted to win GS," Shiffrin said. "There's always a higher level to shoot for, and that's what I've been working on.
"The success just ended up coming with that."
Most of the American skiers competing at the world level live in Europe for months at a time, so having the opportunity to return to the U.S. for this event is a luxury.
For Shiffrin, it means she gets to sleep in her own bed at her parents house. Maybe the only other skier with that type of luxury and comfort will be Vonn.
