Vonn trains again after missing time with illness

[November 19, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Out of the hospital just a few days, Lindsey Vonn is already back on the hill.

The four-time overall World Cup champion resumed her giant slalom training Sunday as she went through a series of gates on a course in Vail, Colo. The day before, Vonn did a little freeskiing on the mountain.

She's quickly getting back up to speed after missing time with an intestinal illness. Should she feel up for it, Vonn will go through a super-G training session Monday.

There's still no decision whether Vonn will take part in giant slalom and slalom races in Aspen over Thanksgiving weekend. The plan is to simply take things day by day. But this was a good start.

"She didn't lose her skills. Her skiing was right there," U.S. women's technical coach Roland Pfeifer said Sunday after the training session. "Obviously, she has a little lack of energy. It's just a matter of how fast she's able to charge her battery, talking about starting in Aspen. We go day by day.

"She's in a very good mood. She likes to be on the slope again. She's so happy to be back. We had a lot of fun, actually."

Vonn was admitted to the hospital in Vail last Monday and stayed two nights. A few days after being released, she posted on Facebook: "Finally starting to get healthy again! Looks like I had some infection in my tummy but everyone has been taking good care of me."

The Olympic downhill gold medalist recently requested to compete in a men's downhill race, only to be rejected by the International Ski Federation. She was hoping to enter the men's race Nov. 24 at Lake Louise, Alberta. Had she been allowed to compete against the men, Vonn would have missed the two women's races in Aspen.

Vonn skipped a slalom competition in Levi, Finland, earlier this month to sneak in more training. She has 53 career victories, trailing only Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria (62) and Vreni Schneider of Switzerland (55).

The 28-year-old Vonn also is seeking to eclipse the 2,000-point plateau after finishing just 20 away last season. She would like nothing more than to join Austrian great Hermann Maier as the only skiers to attain that lofty mark.

[Associated Press; By PAT GRAHAM]

Pat Graham can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pgraham34,

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.