Alpine Skiing news - Lindsey Vonn pushes back retirement following crash

Vonn, 34, had previously announced that this would be her last season in skiing following a succession of serious injuries.

However following an injury whilst in Super-G training in Colorado last week she has pushed back those plans after she had to pull out of this weekend’s meeting at Lake Louise.

Vonn, two times a world champion, premiered the launch of her new YouTube channel with a video detailing exactly what had happened during the crash.

She revealed that she had hyper-extended her left knee, sprained her ACL ligament and bruised a bone.

The American explained in the video that she wanted to race Lake Louise one last time, referencing her great success there.

"The fact that I’m missing Lake Louise is a huge blow for me.

“Having this as my last season the whole point really is to enjoy every stop on the tour. Really make some great final memories. Take a lot of pictures. Enjoy the time with my team-mates. Just really soak it all in. And to be missing my favourite stop on the tour is — I just don’t even know really how to handle it.

“I have kids who have come back to that race for the last eight years to see me. And I’ve developed really good relationship with those kids.”

Lake Louise is Vonn’s most successful venue, with 18 wins in 44 starts and it was one of the races she was targeting to help her in her quest to break Ingemar Stenmark’s World Cup record.

The legendary Swedish skier finished his career with 86 victories, Vonn is currently on 82.

Earlier in her career she was widely expected to break Stenmark’s number but following injuries both pundits and Vonn have reassessed expectations. The 2010 gold medallist has recently stated that she is no longer bothered if she breaks the record or not.

“Whether I break the World Cup win record or not… if I don’t break it at the end of this year, it doesn’t matter.

“That really has nothing to do with me wanting to race in Lake Louise again. For me, Lake Louise has always been my spot.”

Vonn has given no indication on how long she will be out for and whether she may race beyond Lake Louise next season. She did admit her plans could change depending on her fitness.

"I don't have a lot of fight left in me. I've had a lot of surgeries. I've had a lot of injuries, a lot of setbacks," Vonn said. "But I'm also not a quitter.

"For me, this last season is just to enjoy it, to have fun. I've got a lot of pictures I need to take... I'm going to be super sentimental. I'm probably going to cry a lot. But it's going to be fun."