EONGSEON, South Korea — It’s not in Laurenne Ross’ nature to hesitate. She never used to and would prefer not to, but after the medical wringer she’s been through, who would blame her?
Her injury history is lengthy. The 29-year-old Alpine ski racer has torn up nearly every part of her body, from her face to her pelvis to her knees. She hasn’t been spared from concussions and ankle strains, or shoulder dislocations and bulging discs, either.
These major setbacks have not stopped her from competing in world championships and Olympics, but they do affect her mentally.
“I think there’s something in me that really holds back,” Ross said Saturday after finishing 15th in the Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Center. It was her first event here at the Pyeongchang Games.
Ross started skiing when she was 18 months old with her father, Rob, a former ski racer, and she was racing by age six. She suffered her first injury, though, when she was nine years old — a crash that resulted in a major face lacerations requiring more than 100 stitches. The scars are still visible.
Most recently, Ross crashed and blew out her right knee, tearing her ACL and meniscus during the giant slalom at the 2017 U.S. national championships last March. She recovered quickly and made it back in time to record a top-10 finish at the World Cup in December. Now she’s here to challenge the world’s best in the Super-G, downhill and alpine combined.
Ross tried to block out her past as she approached the Super-G starting gate, but it’s a hard thing to do, she said. Not to mention Ross has been experiencing constant pain ever since she arrived in South Korea 10 days ago.
“I really haven’t had a pain-free day,” Ross said through a smile after clocking a 1:22.17 in the race. “So I think it’s subconsciously affecting me quite a bit, but I’m so lucky to be here and it’s been an incredible journey. I feel so fortunate to have made it this far.”
Ross had her first wipeout since her last major injury two weeks ago during a downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a few days before leaving for the Olympics.
It was a scary moment, but she was OK.
“I really needed that crash to happen because it’s been waiting for me,” Ross said. “Since I’ve been injured, I haven’t had a crash and to be able to crash in downhill and be able to walk away from it really boosted my confidence because I’ve been scared of that specifically. I needed that.
“It gave me confidence to know that I could push myself.”
Ross was the 12th racer out of the gate and luckily teammate Lindsey Vonn, who was No. 1 on the starting list, had radioed up to give her a full report about the course. Vonn, who is competing in her first Olympics since the 2010 Vancouver Games, nearly wiped out on the final turn and finished tied for sixth place with Italy’s Federica Brignone.
“She let us know (the course) was really chargeable and gave us the tips for trying to nail the difficult sections,” Ross said. “She was really positive. It was nice to hear from her up there.”
Despite any doubt that may have crept in, Ross was aggressive and happy with her race. The gold medal went to the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka, a snowboarder who won her first skiing podium with a time of 1:21.11. Americans Breezy Johnson and Alize McKennis sandwiched Ross, finishing 14th and 16th, respectively.
Ross will race the downhill on Wednesday, where she placed 11th four years ago in Sochi, and the alpine combined on Friday.
“I feel good right now,” Ross said. “I feel relief. It’s nice to get the first event over with. It’s been a lot of waiting for me and it’s been really hard to not be able to race for so long. I’ll take what I learned from today, which is just you have to charge down this hill and take some risks. It’s the Olympics, so I’m trying to have fun.”
