Lindsey Vonn put the 22 hardest months of her career behind her with a 60th World Cup victory in a downhill at Lake Louise on Saturday and said she had always believed in her ability to come back.
The victory was her first in nearly two years.
'I've never had that sort of setback like I've had the last two years,' said the American. 'I always believed in myself to come back but I never really knew until today. And today I'm finally back at the top. ... It's an amazing day.'
A broken shin and two knee operations were not enough to spoil Vonn's class and she could not have chosen a better place to return than Lake Louise, where she clinched her 15th victory at the resort.
Lindsey Vonn's win in pictures
Lindsey Vonn grins after winning the women's downhill at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup
The American skier screams after taking first place at the event at Lake Louise
Vonn never doubted she would come back, despite enduring almost two years of injury setbacks
Tiger Woods' girlfriend waves to fans after completing her comeback at the race in Canada
'My first victory in Lake Louise (in 2004) I was more surprised and happy. It's a completely different feeling,' said the girlfriend of golfer Tiger Woods who had not raced at World Cup level for 349 days.
It only took her a dress rehearsal in Friday's first downhill, in which she finished eighth, to find her marks.
'Every day's gotten a little bit better here. I'm finally back when I'm confident and pushing my limits,' she said. 'I haven't had that until today. It's finally where it should be.'
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While warning not to expect too much just yet, the four-times World Cup champion is now only two victories short of Austria's Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of 62 World Cup wins.
'It definitely gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season,' Vonn said. 'The record is always something that I kind of think about but it's not something that motivates me in the summer or when I'm working hard in my gym.
Vonn is two wins away from equalling Austria's Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of 62 World Cup wins
A broken shin and two knee operations had hampered Vonn's progress after the last 22months
Vonn speaks on her phone to tell someone the good news after her long awaited victory
Vonn greets some young fans after her victory ahead of Sunday's Super-G race
Vonn shared the podium will fellow US skiers Stacey Cook (left) and Julia Mancuso (right)
'I'm concentrating on skiing well tomorrow and keep improving,' said Vonn, who will be among the favourites in Sunday's Super-G.
Her comeback was all the more of a celebration as she found herself on the podium with two U.S. Ski Team mates, Stacey Cook and Julia Mancuso, a first top-three finish for Americans in the World Cup.
'I think our team is very strong right now,' said Vonn, noting the prospect of the world championships at home in Vail in February would be a special motivation.
THINGS DIDN'T WORK OUT SO WELL FOR TIGER...
Lindsey Vonn's boyfriend, former world No 1 golfer Tiger Woods, fared less well on his long-awaited comeback to the professional arena.
As tournament host of the Hero World Challenge, Woods was in last place of the 18-player field and battled against nausea and fever during the third round on Saturday.
Despite coughing repeatedly into a towel and vomiting along the third fairway, he carried on in his return to competition after an absence of some four months due to back pain and managed a decent round of three-under-par.
Tiger Woods' comeback was curbed by sickness as former world No 1 vomited along the third fairway
'I wasn't doing too good. But I thought I could hang in there,' Woods whispered to reporters after the round, explaining he had lost his voice.
'I wasn't in pain. I just was a little bit under the weather,' said Woods, who played Friday after running a 102-degree fever.
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