Vonn tests her bruised shin in free run after training is postponed

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There was no official racing at Whistler Creekside on Sunday, as poor conditions wiped out training for Wednesday’s scheduled women’s downhill, but American star Lindsey Vonn did test her bruised shin with some solo slalom training.

Her husband, Thomas Vonn, told the Associated Press that Lindsey’s ‘focus had changed’ as to whether she would be able to compete in the 2010 Games.

At a pre-Olympic news conference in Vancouver last Wednesday, Vonn expressed doubt about her ability to race because of the shin she bruised Feb. 2 while training in Austria. But poor weather has prevented the women from completing any training runs, allowing Vonn valuable time for her injury to heal.

Vonn hopes to test her shin in an official training run Monday. The women’s combined, scheduled for Sunday, has been moved to Thursday. Vonn’s first race, if the weather cooperates, will be in Wednesday’s downhill. She is expected to be a strong medal contender in the downhill, super-G and the super combined.

The men’s downhill is still a go for Whistler on Monday. More would be known after a Sunday evening meeting of race captains at the base of the Alpine competition. It rained hard early Sunday morning in Whistler but the skies have cleared in the late afternoon.

--Chris Dufresne, in Whistler, Canada