Lindsey Vonn didn’t become an Olympic gold medalist simply by being a good skier; she also knows how to win the mental game with her opponents.
The American skier practiced on Monday in PyeongChang in the women’s downhill event and had a good run, but she intentionally tried to make herself worse. That was a strategic move by the 33-year-old.
“I was trying to slow myself down,” Vonn told NBC’s Heather Cox when asked why she held her hands up as she approached the finish line. “I actually didn’t want to win the training run today. I like letting other people think that they’re faster.
“In ski there’s a few things you an do to play mind games. I use every opportunity,” she said while laughing.
Vonn wound up third in the second training run for the downhill, 0.35 behind Stephanie Venier at the time of her interview.
Vonn is looking to rebound from her performance in the super-G on Saturday, which included a bobble at the end that left her out of medal contention, and led to plenty of backlash from hating fans.
Vonn’s Olympic gold medal came in the downhill at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. She is hoping to become a two-time gold medalist in the event.
