CNN
 — 

In a CNN Sports exclusive interview, American skier Lindsey Vonn said that she has proved to herself – and her doubters – that she deserves to be back on the World Cup circuit after taking her first podium since coming out of retirement.

The 40-year-old came second in the super-G at the World Cup finals in March to become the oldest female Alpine skier to make the podium of a World Cup race – by six years.

It was Vonn’s first World Cup podium finish since March 15, 2018 when she placed third in the super-G in Åre, Sweden.

Vonn retired from skiing in February 2019 but announced last year she would be returning to the sport after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in April 2024.

It’s fair to say even Vonn didn’t think she would return to this level of skiing.

“Never in a million years would I have ever expected to be back here,” she said speaking at the recent Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. “I mean, when I saw you last, it was emotional because I was ending my career and that was it.

“That was the end, and I definitely wish that it hadn’t been the end because I love skiing and it’s always been my passion since I was a kid, but my body was no longer cooperating.

“Thankfully with this partial knee replacement, now I’m lucky enough to have the chance again – and, hopefully, another Olympics next year.”

Stepping onto that podium was a sliding doors moment in Vonn’s return to the sport she still loves so much.

She admitted there were doubts in her own mind about her decision to make a comeback during a brutal season. Vonn said she weighed 20 pounds less than her previous competition weight, wasn’t “nearly as strong as I was before” and had to deal with new equipment, coaches and trainers.

At times, Vonn admitted the challenges thrown at her felt “insurmountable” and said “it is hard to quantify” just how important getting back onto the podium was for her belief.

“I think that it changes everything,” she explained to CNN. “I think there are a lot of people that thought that I would never be back and I would never be successful again – and I think that I proved to myself, and to them, that I still deserve to be here, no matter if I will be 41 at the next Olympics.

“I cried. I think that (podium) was the hardest I’ve ever cried after a race because it just was so emotional and it meant so much to me – and, actually, I’m going to put it next to my Olympic medal because that’s how much it means to me.

“I’ve never had so many different variables in one season, and I felt like every weekend it was something new, some new challenge was just being thrown at me. And sometimes, I felt like I was beat down and it was hard to find the motivation because I was doing this because I love ski racing, but at times this season, it felt like it was insurmountable.”

Even after so many years away from the sport, Vonn said skiing after her comeback still “feels exactly the same.” Her vast experience and knowledge of the tracks, she explained to CNN Sports, helps level the playing field against competitors “half my age” that would enjoy a physical advantage over the quadragenarian skier.

Initially, Vonn said she wasn’t skiing to “prove anything to anybody” but that changed when she heard “so many negative voices from my peers” during the season.

“That really hurt me and, by the end, I knew that I could do it for myself, but I also wanted to prove it for every 40 year old woman you know that we are not defined by our age,” Vonn said.

“We’re defined by our ability and our work ethic, and I worked as hard as I could to be back to where I got to, and that’s why I felt like I needed to do it to prove to women that we could.

“I love the sport. Like nothing will change it no matter what I do. From the time I was seven years old and I started racing, it’s always been the thing that I just feel the most alive doing.”

Sheffield, England
Reuters
 — 

Zhao Xintong became the first Chinese player to win the World Snooker Championship with a victory over Welshman and three-times winner Mark Williams at the Crucible Theatre on Monday, the latest chapter in Zhao’s remarkable rise and fall story.

The 28-year-old won by 18 frames to 12 to become the first amateur to win the world title, despite a spirited comeback attempt from Williams.

“I can’t believe what I’ve done. It’s very exciting,” said Zhao, draped in a Chinese flag. “I was so nervous tonight. Mark is still a top player and put me under so much pressure. He’s the best.

“It’s a very special moment for me, for Chinese snooker, for everyone.”

Zhao received a 20-month ban in January 2023 after a match-fixing scandal that rocked the sport, the repercussions of which meant he was classed as an amateur at this event and needed to get through four rounds of qualifying to reach the Crucible – a grueling run to the title that began on April 7.

The Chinese player, who lives just a 10-minute walk from the Crucible venue, took an 11-6 overnight lead into Monday’s third session.

While Zhao looked completely unflappable and kept smiling throughout the afternoon session, Williams struggled for accuracy and appeared powerless to stop his opponent from taking a seemingly unassailable 17-8 lead, meaning Zhao needed to win just one frame in the evening final to claim the world title.

But a free-wheeling Williams made things interesting by winning the evening’s first four frames with a flurry of excellent shots before the younger player answered in the fifth to secure victory.

The final was already historic no matter the result, as the 50-year-old Williams became the oldest player to reach the final with his semi-final win over world No. 1 Judd Trump.

“It’s been a brilliant tournament for me,” said Williams, momentarily fighting back tears. “The support I’ve had for the past two weeks has been unbelievable.

“But what a potter Zhao is. I’m glad I’ll be too old when he’s dominating the game. I’ve got nothing but admiration for what he’s done, coming through the qualifiers. He hasn’t played for two years, bashed everybody up. There’s a new superstar of the game.”

Zhao had swept aside seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semi-finals to set up what was billed as the coronation of a new snooker king.

The Chinese player, nicknamed “the Cyclone”, raced out to an early 7-1 advantage in the best-of-35-frame contest but Williams staged a mini revival in Sunday’s second session to keep alive his hopes of a fourth title.

No player, however, had overcome such a large overnight deficit since the tournament moved to the Crucible in 1977.

Zhao joined Terry Griffiths and Shaun Murphy as the only qualifiers to capture snooker’s most prestigious trophy.

He banked a check for £500,000 pounds ($664,000) with Monday’s victory, while Williams won £200,000 ($265,000) and climbed to No. 3 in the world ranking.

Williams has been struggling with vision problems and played without glasses or contact lenses while he awaits lens replacement surgery in June.

“I’m still playing quite good stuff, even though my eyesight is a bit blurry,” Williams said.

AP
 — 

After all his Olympic medals were destroyed in the Los Angeles fires, swimming great Gary Hall Jr. set an unexpected record replacing them at IOC headquarters Monday.

Ten Olympic medals awarded to one athlete on the same day.

“I’ll do a better job of taking care of these,” Hall Jr. quipped receiving the new set of five golds, three silvers and two bronzes earned swimming for the United States at three Summer Games from 1996 to 2004.

The originals burned four months ago at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of the city that will host the next Summer Games in 2028.

‘I thought I had more time’: Former Olympian forced to leave gold medals to burn in wildfires

‘I thought I had more time’: Former Olympian forced to leave gold medals to burn in wildfires

01:25

Replacing them by presenting 10 at the same time was “a unique ceremony,” said International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“I don’t think that it happened ever before and I hope it will never have to happen again,” Bach told Hall Jr. “We hope also to give you a moment of relief and joy which will help you now in the further process to get over what you had to go through with this tragedy.”

Hall Jr. spoke with emotion about being supported by family, former teammates and old Olympic rivals like Australia stars Ian Thorpe and Michael Klim.

“Having friends and family I am a very lucky man,” he said. “The support that I was offered from the athletic community has buoyed me through the darkest of nights.”

He brought with him to Switzerland a deformed gold medal later recovered from the home he fled with his dog, Puddles, after grabbing his insulin medication.

“It’s got some character,” Hall Jr. said of the burned gold at the Olympic ceremony. “The value of friends outweighs the value of objects. We live in a time of capitalism, consumerism and you realize when you lose everything, how little of it you truly need.

“Character cannot be taken away, it cannot be burned and it cannot be lost.”

Thorpe was among the first people to contact Hall Jr. during the January fires.

“I don’t know how he knew,” Hall Jr. said of the surprise call from Thorpe, who was part of the Australian 4×100-meter freestyle team that took gold ahead of the U.S. at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“That is what this (Olympic) family is about — rivals and friends. I am just so appreciative to all of them. I can’t thank the Olympic movement enough for their support through this very difficult time.”