Lindsey Vonn has overcome a long list of injuries in her storied skiing career. This latest one -- a concussion that at times disrupts her mental focus -- might prove her most challenging.
"This injury is a lot different than anything I've ever faced before," Vonn said Monday, a day before she's due to defend her gold medal in the super-G that opens the world championships.
"It's not like it's the knee injury or you have a bruise," she added. "There's no pain. It's just I don't have any focus and concentration and it's very difficult. I've had a lot of pain before I can fight through it, but this is not the same."
Vonn landed on her head during a spectacular fall in giant slalom training in Austria last week and pulled out of Friday's World Cup slalom. She'll make a decision on competing here moments before Tuesday's race.
"I feel pretty good right now, but I think the main problem for me is skiing," the Minnesota native said during a news conference Monday. "I'm having a difficult [time] maintaining concentration from the top of the course to the bottom."
Vonn finished 18th in Sunday's giant slalom in nearby Zwiesel.
"I felt good until about three-fourths of the way down the hill, and then I just sort of lost focus and stopped attacking, stopped skiing basically," she said. "In both runs I lost almost a second in the last 15-20 seconds and I feel like that's mostly because of my head."
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