Alpine skiing: Vonn claims 61st World Cup win in Val d'Isere

US Lindsey Vonn skis during the second training session for the Women's World Cup Downhill skiing race in Val d'Isere, French Alps on Dec 19, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
US Lindsey Vonn skis during the second training session for the Women's World Cup Downhill skiing race in Val d'Isere, French Alps on Dec 19, 2014. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

VAL-D'ISERE (France) (AFP) - Lindsey Vonn notched up her 61st World Cup win with success in the women's downhill at Val d'Isere on Saturday.

The four-time overall World Cup champion claimed her latest race by clocking a time of 1min 44.47 sec to edge Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg and Austria's Elisabeth Goergl, who shared second at 19 hundredths of a second behind the American.

This was 30-year-old Vonn's second downhill win of the season after this month's win in Lake Louise, her first victory since a high speed crash in early 2013.

It put the girlfriend of 14-time golf major champion Tiger Woods just one win behind the all-time World Cup record of 62 held by Austria's Annemarie Moser-Proell.

Slovenia skier Tina Maze, who leads the overall World Cup standings, came in fourth.

It was at this corresponding French leg of the World Cup calendar 12 months ago that downhill queen Vonn's bid to compete in the Sochi Olympics were dashed.

A fall exacerbated the anterior cruciate ligament right knee injury she suffered at the 2013 world championships.

Her road back from reconstructive surgery last season was dogged by setbacks but with this latest triumph her injury woes appear to finally be behind her.

Finishing in a lowly 11th place behind Vonn at Val d'Isere, meanwhile, was the defending overall World Cup champion Anna Fenninger of Austria.

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