To be the best at anything takes dedication, hard work, and the will to overcome adversity. Most of the time, we develop a strong mindset through our life experiences and the values instilled in us by our family. And certainly, this is the case for alpine skiing icon Lindsey Vonn.

With her grit and determination, she has made history in the sport and touched the lives of many. Vonn is an Olympic champion and a four-time overall World Cup title holder. And her family is her inspiration.

Lindsey Vonn, on what was her driving force

Before the Beijing Olympic Games, the retired skier talked to PBS about her drive for success and how her family played a big part in it. She shared, “I have always been a very driven person, but I think it also comes from my environment, my family, my parents, my grandparents.”

Lindsey Vonn has mentioned time and again what changed her perspective on injury and recovery. When Vonn’s mother, Linda Krohn, gave birth to the skiing sensation, she suffered a stroke that caused minor paralysis in her left leg. But Vonn never heard her complain, even though she could never bounce back completely.

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Vonn explained that her whole family had a similar attitude towards life, and they passed on their work ethic to the Olympic champion. “My grandfather was a very tough, strong man who had an incredible work ethic, as was my grandmother. And spending a lot of time as a kid around them, and also, again, my mother being extremely tough, and my father really ingraining in me work ethic.”

But even without their influence, Vonn has always strived for success. “I think that — all of those people really shaped me, but the drive to want to be the best and to be a competitor, I don’t know, that’s something I have always had.”

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Vonn’s incredible career on the slope

The record 82 World Cup victories didn’t come to Lindsey Vonn without obstacles. In such an extreme sport where skiers go hurtling down the slope at 85 miles an hour, the risk of injury is high. She sustained several physical injuries, crashed in training, and pushed her body to the extreme, which eventually led to her retirement.

But Vonn never let injury deter her from chasing after her dreams. Occasionally, she would even stand at the starting line with a pole wrapped around one of her limbs to stabilize it. She had a 17-year-long career despite constant visits to the hospital.

Vonn has had countless surgeries on her knees alone, damaging her ACL and MCL. She fractured her right arm, broke her ankles, had various concussions, cut her thumb, and bruised her shins. But she kept going until her knees couldn’t support her weight on the skis anymore.

Vonn retired in 2019, a year after winning the bronze medal in the downhill at Pyeongchang Games.

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