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Set for Olympic Stardom?
Americans Like Vonn Need the Games For Recognition
On the podium again; Lindsey Vonn is an American gold medal hopeful.
Photo: Red Bull
She is blonde and beautiful, as hot as Miami Beach in August.
Her eyes sparkle like snow glistening in the sunlight, her smile is as inviting as a campfire s' more. If she were the girl next door, then everyone would be moving in next door.
So who is this wonder of a woman? A movie or TV star? Sports Illustrated swimsuit model? Famous for simply being famous?
On the podium again; Lindsey Vonn is an American gold medal hopeful.
Photos: Red Bull
No, she's Linsdey Vonn, American downhill snow skier, potential gold medallist. and almost certainly one of the big stars to emerge during this year's Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
Vonn is one of the world's elite competitors, the most accomplshed women's World Cup performer in US history, in fact. She is the first American woman to win back-to-back overall World Cup championships (2008 and 2009), has back-to-back World Cup titles in the downhill and became the first American woman to win the Super G.
She has 28 World Cup wins in four disciplines (downhill, Super G, slalom and super combined) and two World Championship gold medals, plus two World Championship silver medals. She enters the Games leading the 2010 Women's World Cup standings.
Vonn has had a lot of success on the snow with World Cup titles.
Photos: Red Bull
Yet because these accomplishments have occurred largely overseas and off television she – like most U.S. Olympic athletes, be it the Winter or Summer Games – is as obscure as a small town in Iowa. As unnoticed as change under a couch cushion.
Such is the fate of America's Olympic athletes. During the Games, they can rise to fame as quickly as the Olympic flame but beforehand they are overshadowed by athletes from the mainstream "stick and ball" sports.
For Americans, the first few days of watching the Olympics is like moving into a new house – they need to be introduced to their neighbors. Who in this country ever heard of Shawn White before the Olympics? Tara Lipinski? Misty May and Kerri Walsh? Michael Phelps, for that matter?
Vonn has had a lot of success on the snow with World Cup titles.
Photos: Red Bull
Being attractive, as Vonn certainly is, helps. It's not completely necessary but for a female athlete, it certainly improves the package. And not just for Olympians. Would Danica Patrick be doing GoDaddy ads if she looked like a twin of A.J. Foyt? Would Anna Kournikova have achieved fame (and millions in endorsements) if she were "merely pretty" as Frank Deford so eloquently wrote in a Sports Illustrated piece? No.
The boyz can get away with simply having distinctive features, like White's crazy hair. The ladies, it seems, need to bring style as well as substance.
But despite her looks, for Vonn – and other American athletes at the Winter Games – to really endure herself to an American public always wanting a hero or heroine to emerge in the Olympics, she must win. Silver would be nice. Gold would be ideal. Bronze would be satisfactory for the Games but woudn't provide her with a long shelf life after the closing ceremonies.
Simply being in the Olympics is not good enough for American athletes. Gold medals are where the riches and fame are achieved.
So while the American public may not know the name Lindsay Vonn before the Olympics, they will certainly know it during the Games. They will be rooting for her as if she were their daughter, sister or (in the fantasy minds of many males), wife or girlfriend.
And here, at the end of the article, is the probably the best time to break the news to all those throbbing teenage boys hearts, and every single guy in America for that matter, that she's married. That's one gold medal in the family already – for her husband.
– VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC LINKS –
• Winter Olympics Fans Party Guide.
• Official Vancouver Olympics Site. www.Vancouver2010.com
• Official Whistler Olympics Site. www.Whislter2010.com•Vancouver Visitor's Guide,
Get orientated so you can cruise the streets like a local.
• Learn about Vancouver's nightlfe through its pubs and clubs.
• Explore the city and its beautiful surroundings in this
Sightseeing & Activities Guide
• See what bars are always happening in Whistler.
• Ski the great mountain with this Whistler ski & snowboard guide.
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