Lindsey Vonn is on her way in skiing’s World Cup

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

OVER THE ATLANTIC -- Shared a row on a flight to Germany this week with Lindsey Vonn.

We were each on a business trip.

She put the tools of her trade, a pair of rust-colored Rossignol ski boots, into the overhead bin -- next to the bag with my laptop.

She was 12J, I was 12H.

She was beef, I was fish.

She is the reigning alpine World Cup overall champion. I write about her frequently during the ski season.
She is off to a great start this year, with two wins in six races and a 98-point lead in the standings.
My season peaked at the Beijing Olympics, where my column ranking Michael Phelps as only the sixth greatest Olympian in history was the most viewed story for August on The Times’ website.

I would be heading home on Saturday after covering an Olympic meeting in Switzerland, before she began working.

She was heading to northern Spain to race a slalom and giant slalom this weekend, the start of a European odyssey that will keep her from her house in Park City, Utah, until mid-March.

The grind of racing, training and bouncing all over Europe (this year, the skiers at least get to stay put for about two weeks at the World Championships) leaves an athlete vulnerable to the usual perils of being on cars, trains, planes and buses, including illness and circulation problems.

Vonn was taking no chances. No style over substance for this down-to-earth native Minnesotan.

As soon as our flight from O’Hare to Frankfurt, Germany, took off, Vonn put on compression socks as a defense against leg cramps and put a mask over her mouth as a defense against germs. She also made frequent use of an antibacterial hand lotion and offered some to me. She kept a scarf around her neck.

I felt like a rookie traveler, even after logging some 1.5 million miles on United in the 22 years since the airline began recording my travel in Mileage Plus. No mask. No scarf. No special socks. No soap.

But we both had the magic pill.

She and I have found Ambien to be the best defense against the airplane insomnia that occurs when you try to trick your body into sleep well before its normal bedtime.

Which is why my trip with Lindsey was only this much to write home about.

We talked for a while, but both of us spent most of our nine hours together asleep.

-- Phillip Hersh