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Lindsey Vonn to resume her comeback in St. Anton in January after St. Moritz race canceled

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Lindsey Vonn to resume her comeback in St. Anton in January after St. Moritz race canceled
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Lindsey Vonn to resume her comeback in St. Anton in January after St. Moritz race canceled

2024-12-22 20:36 Last Updated At:20:41

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn lost a chance to improve her ranking when the second race of her World Cup skiing comeback at age 40 was canceled on Sunday due to strong winds and poor visibility.

On Saturday, Vonn placed 14th in a super-G on the Corviglia course in St. Moritz to mark her return to the circuit after nearly six years of retirement.

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Race officials descend the course after an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Race officials descend the course after an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, takes a selfie in the finish area after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, takes a selfie in the finish area after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

A gate is barely seen through the fog as an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

A gate is barely seen through the fog as an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Vonn lost time at the start of the race but then was competitive with the top-five finishers the rest of the way down.

“It took her 20 seconds to get back into it, and then she was fine,” said Chris Knight, Vonn’s personal coach.

Another super-G had been scheduled for Sunday.

“She’d like to be in the top 15 later in the season,” Knight told The Associated Press when the race was canceled. “What we’re aiming for the next races is to accumulate points and get a better start number around the girls who are competitive.”

Since Vonn hadn’t raced in so long, she had to use a new wild card for former champions that enabled her to start No. 31. But that’s still long after the top-ranked skiers start, leaving her with a bumpier and more challenging course.

“If we can get around those other girls on the same track in the same conditions then you really know what’s going on,” Knight said.

Vonn now won’t race again until the next speed weekend in St. Anton, Austria on Jan. 11-12, which features a downhill and a super-G.

After St. Anton, she plans to compete in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and hopefully qualify for the world championships in Saalbach, Austria, in February.

For now, Vonn is heading home to Miami for the holidays. Then she will return to Europe for training in early January before resuming a near-full schedule of speed races.

“We don’t have couple of races later on before finals on the schedule. But we’ll see,” Knight said. “I mean, it’s just moved so quickly.”

Race officials descend the course after an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Race officials descend the course after an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, takes a selfie in the finish area after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, takes a selfie in the finish area after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

A gate is barely seen through the fog as an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

A gate is barely seen through the fog as an alpine ski, women's World Cup Super G race was canceled due to strong winds and poor visibility, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Next Article

What we know about the deadly Christmas market attack in Germany

2024-12-22 20:39 Last Updated At:20:40

MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Four women and a 9-year-old boy were killed and 200 people were injured when a Saudi doctor drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg — an attack that has left Germans mourning the victims and with a shaken sense of security.

At first, Thi Linh Chi Nguyen thought the loud bangs were fireworks. The 34-year-old manicurist from Vietnam, whose salon is near the Christmas market, was on the phone during a break when she heard the noise just after 7 p.m. on Friday. Then she saw a car drive through the market at high speed. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by the car.

The woman recalled seeing the car bursting out of the market and turning right onto Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then coming to a standstill at a tram stop where the suspect was arrested.

The market stood empty and cordoned off by police tape, with armed officers deployed around it. Nearby, people stopped Sunday to light candles or leave flowers at a growing makeshift memorial.

Police say the dead are four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, and a boy, aged 9. Authorities said 200 people were injured, including 41 in serious condition. They were being treated in multiple hospitals in Magdeburg, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Berlin, and beyond.

Prosecutors said the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. In a closed-door hearing on Saturday evening, a judge ordered that he be kept in custody pending a possible indictment.

Several German media outlets identified the suspect as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. He has lived in Germany since 2006, practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

The suspect's X account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion, while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamification of Europe.” He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum-seekers.

Investigators are analyzing the suspect's computers, mobile devices and other evidence, trying to understand what motivated him to drive his black BMW into a crowd in the eastern German city. Prosecutors said the motive may have been “dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany.”

There are unanswered questions about what the authorities knew about the suspect. The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, said the agency — Germany's equivalent of the FBI — received a warning from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, but that the information proved to be very unspecific.

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also acknowledged it had received a warning about the suspect last year.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing criticism about security lapses that allowed the attack to happen, and was heckled by some bystanders during a visit to Magdeburg on Saturday.

The violence shocked all of Germany, prompting several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution, and out of solidarity with Magdeburg’s loss. Berlin kept its markets open but increased the police presence.

Germany has suffered several extremist attacks in recent years, including a knife attack that killed three people and wounded eight at a festival in the western city of Solingen in August. Friday’s attack came eight years after an Islamic extremist drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring many others.

Those attacks have led cities to beef up security at Christmas markets and other events.

The horror triggered by yet another act of mass violence in Germany make it likely that migration will remain a key issue as German heads toward an early election on Feb. 23.

It is the latest in a string of incidents around the world in which vehicles have been used as weapons by jihadi attackers, far-right extremists and others whose motives were unclear.

A woman stands next to flowers and candles laid down near the Magdeburg Cathedral, after a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas Mark on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A woman stands next to flowers and candles laid down near the Magdeburg Cathedral, after a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas Mark on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

People lay flowers and light candles on concrete blocks that protect the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People lay flowers and light candles on concrete blocks that protect the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, is empty on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, is empty on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People have lit candles at the Christmas Market in Magdeburg, Germany on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, . (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People have lit candles at the Christmas Market in Magdeburg, Germany on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, . (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People lay flowers and light candles on concrete blocks that protect the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

People lay flowers and light candles on concrete blocks that protect the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, is empty on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

The Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, is empty on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Flowers and candles laid down in front of the Johannis church close to the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Flowers and candles laid down in front of the Johannis church close to the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A couple embrace each other in front of flowers and candles laid down at the Johannis church close to the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A couple embrace each other in front of flowers and candles laid down at the Johannis church close to the Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

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