CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn won a downhill Sunday to match Annemarie Moser-Proell’s 35-year-old record of 62 World Cup wins, capping a comeback from two serious knee surgeries.
The American clocked a time of 1 minute, 39.61 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course to finish 0.32 ahead of Elisabeth Goergl of Austria.
Daniela Merighetti of Italy was third, 0.54 back.
Vonn can break Moser-Proell’s record in a super-G scheduled for Monday.
Moser-Proell, an Austrian great, established the record between 1970 and 1980.
Swedish standout Ingemark Stenmark holds the men’s record of 86 wins.
It was Vonn’s third win this season — all in downhill — and the eighth of her career in Cortina.
Vonn was on track to smash the record two years ago before she crashed at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria, and tore up her right knee. She attempted to return for last year’s Sochi Olympics but re-injured her knee in Val d’Isere, France, in December, 2013, forcing her to sit out the games.
Vonn has won 32 downhills, 20 super-Gs, three giant slaloms, two slaloms and five combined races.
Not included in those numbers is Vonn’s gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, or her golds in downhill and super-G at the 2009 worlds in Val d’Isere.
Moser-Proell won 36 downhills, 16 giant slaloms, three slaloms and seven combined races.
The super-G was introduced two years after Moser-Proell retired.
The race was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to heavy snowfall in a resort known as the Queen of the Dolomites Range.
If Vonn doesn’t break the record Monday, she could do it next weekend in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
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Andrew Dampf can be followed at www.twitter.com/asdampf
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