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Vail Resorts sponsors Lindsey Vonn

Sarah Mausolf
smausolf@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado
AP file
ALL |

VAIL, Colorado – Next time you cruise Vail’s back bowls or stroll through Lionshead in Vail, Colorado, you might spot a famous skier.

Olympic racer Lindsey Vonn plans to live in Vail for the next four years. Vail Resorts on Monday announced a four-year sponsorship deal with the World Cup champion. Vonn and her husband, Thomas Vonn, will be staying at the Arrabelle at Vail Square hotel in Lionshead when they aren’t traveling.

Vail Resorts will support the famous ski racer as she sets out to win five gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in February, a resort release said. A pep rally set for Aug. 21 in Lionshead will cheer her on.



It’ll be exciting for locals like 9-year-old Nellie Talbot. Nellie races for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, of which Vonn is an alumnus, and she looks up to Vonn.

“I think it will be really fun because if I see her it will be really cool to meet her again,” she said.

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Nellie met Vonn a few years ago through the ski club and she watched the World Cup on TV.

“I was just thinking ‘Wow, someday I really wish I was that good,” Nellie said.

Nellie wants to be a famous ski racer just like Vonn when she grows up. She’s been invited to participate in the pep rally.

Vonn, 24, has close ties to Vail Mountain. Born in Burnsville, Minn., she and her family commuted to Vail for training for several years before moving here in the late 90s. As a young skier, she honed her racing skills with the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.

The fact that Vonn chose to come back to Vail reflects well on the town, said Aldo Radamus, executive director of the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.

“We couldn’t be happier that Lindsey is coming back home to Vail and is going to be around and a direct role model in the community and for the kids who admire her so much,” he said.

Vonn couldn’t be reached for comment Monday because she was traveling.

“Vail Mountain has always been my favorite ski resort,” she said in the press release. “It’s where I grew up and learned to race. My husband, Thomas, and I are truly thrilled to be coming back to Vail and making it our home.”

Through the partnership with Vail Resorts, Vonn will represent Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Heavenly, the release said. She’ll appear at ski shows and consumer events in the United States and Europe this fall to generate a buzz about the Olympics. She’s also going to promote snow sports and the Epic Season Pass.

“Lindsey truly represents all of the ideals we hold dear at Vail Resorts – incredible work ethic, drive for success, absolute professionalism and a deep and sincere passion for skiing and for the mountains,” Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz said.

What: Community pep rally for Lindsey Vonn

Details: Vonn will be at the event. The send-off will feature guest dignitaries, former Olympic skiers and entertainment.

When: Friday; kids’ craft station opens at 4:30 p.m.; ’80s cover band Chadzilla and the Asteroids plays at 5 p.m.; Vail welcomes Vonn at 6 p.m.; live music resumes at 7 p.m.

Where: Plaza of the Arrabelle at Vail Square, Lionshead

Cost: Free

More information: http://www.vailresorts.com


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