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<p>CORTINA D&#8217;AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) &#8212; Lindsey Vonn avoided more serious injury when she fell and crashed into the safety netting during a World Cup downhill training session Friday.</p><p>The American, who returned this month from nearly a year out with knee and arm injuries, lost control after getting too much air at a tricky left turn on the upper portion of the Olympia delle Tofane course.</p><p>After pausing to collect herself, Vonn skied down to the finish area.</p><p>&#8220;I just caught a lot of air off this jump between the turns and I landed and hit another bump and just went in the fences in a little bit,&#8221; Vonn said. &#8220;But I&#8217;m fine.&#8221;</p><p>Vonn added that her right arm &#8212; the same one she broke in a training crash in Copper Mountain, Colorado, in November &#8212; &#8220;might be a little sore tomorrow.&#8221;</p><p>A downhill race is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a super-G on Sunday.</p><p>Vonn holds the resort record of 11 wins in Cortina.</p><p>Italian veteran Elena Fanchini fell in the same spot, also without serious consequences.</p><p>Vonn was only 0.11 seconds behind then-leader Ilka Stuhec at the first interval, right before she went down as the course went from bright sunshine to shade.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not what makes it tricky,&#8221; Vonn said of the change of light. &#8220;It&#8217;s there&#8217;s a bit of a lip there and some people are catching a lot of air, some people are catching no air. I got like 20-25 meters (yards) and I just didn&#8217;t have enough time to land it and had to make the switch right away and there just wasn&#8217;t enough time before I hit the fence.&#8221;</p><p>Vonn discussed the terrain with International Ski Federation race director Jean-Philippe Vulliet.</p><p>&#8220;Tomorrow with race speeds I&#8217;m going to fly even farther, so I think they should just clean that up a little bit it should be perfect for the race,&#8221; the four-time overall World Cup champion said.</p><p>Verena Stuffer of Italy led the training session, 0.05 ahead of defending overall champion Lara Gut and 0.34 in front of Sofia Goggia.</p><p>Stuhec, who leads the downhill standings with three wins this season, was fourth.</p><p>Julia Mancuso, another American standout who is returning from hip surgery, struggled in 47th position, nearly 4 1/2 seconds behind Stuffer.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to get back in the middle of the season,&#8221; Mancuso said, adding that she&#8217;s still regaining strength in her right hip. &#8220;I still have a long way to go before I&#8217;m 100 percent strong and ready to compete for the top step of the podium. But you have to start somewhere.&#8221;</p><p>Mancuso has claimed one win and six second-place results in Cortina over her career. But she has not raced since March 2015.</p><p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;m ready for the super-G,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to talk to my coaches about (the downhill). The high speed is really demanding. I don&#8217;t want to compete until I&#8217;m actually ready to compete and be in there.&#8221;</p><p>For the U.S. team, this is the final weekend of qualifying for next month&#8217;s world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland.</p><p>Unless the coaches select her based merely on experience &#8212; she has won nine medals at the Olympics and worlds &#8212; Mancuso needs a solid result this weekend to make the team.</p><p>&#8220;I hope that I can get a chance to improve and show that I&#8217;m ready to fight and be competitive with a little more training,&#8221; Mancuso said.</p><p>Vonn, meanwhile, is aiming to win after claiming a downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, last weekend in just her second race back.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been a while since I crashed in a downhill training run but I&#8217;m glad that it&#8217;s just training,&#8221; Vonn said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve had so much success on this hill I&#8217;m not really worried about not having a training run today. I know this hill, I know what to do and I have confidence now. I just need to do some therapy, reset and be ready for tomorrow.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_114735216-07bced7bff2c497599846b2ed1491a73.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">United States&#8217;s Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women&#8217;s World Cup downhill training, in Cortina d&#8217;Ampezzo, Italy on Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_114735216-07bced7bff2c497599846b2ed1491a73.jpg</photo0><caption0>United States&#8217;s Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women&#8217;s World Cup downhill training, in Cortina d&#8217;Ampezzo, Italy on Friday. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Andrew Dampf</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Vonn avoids more serious injury in downhill training crash