Olympic skiing is often overlooked in favor of the high-flying snowboarders, but female skiing sensation Lindsey Vonn is looking to change that. Vonn has already made history during the 2010 Winter Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win the gold medal in downhill.

Lindsey Vonn grew up in Burnsville, and was already on skis by the time she was 2 years old. Vonn had been conditioned for most of her childhood to become a professional skier. She attended a prestigious ski development program in Buck Hill and was even mentored by legendary skier Picabo Street. At the age of 14, Vonn became the only American female to win the Trofeo Topolino contest in Italy. In the same year, Vonn bought a replica United States ski team uniform and claimed to be one of the skiers who lost her identification and was able to get into some of the athlete-only areas and meet some of the competitors.

Vonn made her Olympic debut in 2002, racing in the slalom and the combined, placing sixth in combined. In 2005, she made it to her first world championships and placed fourth in both the downhill and the combined. During a practice run in the 2006 Winter Olympics, Vonn crashed and was hospitalized overnight. The next day, she competed despite a badly bruised hip and finished in eighth place, while being awarded the Olympic Spirit award for overcoming her injury and showing great determination.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Vonn has already competed in three of her five events. In her second event, the super-combined, she crashed and was unable to finish the race. She rebounded for her next event, the super-G, and placed third, only 0.74 seconds behind first place. Expect Vonn’s drive and killer instinct to take over in her next two events, as we have seen her come back from injury before, and to add to the gold medal she has already won in the 2010 Winter Olympics.