Alpine Skiing news - Tina Maze hails retiring legends Lindsey Vonn and Aksel Lund Svindal

ByEurosport

Updated 08/02/2019 at 21:35 GMT

Former World Championship gold medallist Tina Maze has lauded the careers of Lindsey Vonn and Aksel Lund Svindal ahead of their final races this weekend.

Isabel Boltenstern and Tina Maze

Image credit: Eurosport

Vonn, 34, and Svindal, 36, have both confirmed that they will retire after the World Championships in Are this month.

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They are both due to compete in the Downhill with Vonn racing in the women’s event on Saturday and Svindal in the men’s on Sunday which will draw a close on their careers.

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The pair are considered to be two of the greatest alpine skiers of all time with six overall World Cup titles, three Olympic gold medals and seven World Championship gold medals between them.

On Vonn, quite possibly the greatest female skier ever with 82 World Cup victories, Maze said: “With Lindsey we were growing up together, we knew each other since we were kids.

“We both had amazing careers. When we were younger she was always a little bit higher than I was – her performance was always a little better for a long time so I was always trying to catch up with her.

“Once I managed to reach the same level as Lindsey, our battles were great. You always need good battles to make sport interesting. It was my pleasure and it was a lot of fun racing against her.”

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Maze, herself a four-time world champion and double Olympic gold medallist, is currently working for Eurosport during the World Championships.

She was equally full of praise for Svindal, the first male alpine skier to win a title in four consecutive World Championships.

“Aksel is such a great person and athlete. I remember I met him very early in my career when I thought he was much older than he actually was.

“You already knew he was such a great athlete and the amount of work he puts in to his performance. The results he achieved tell you everything you need to know about him. I don’t think I need to add much more than that.

For me, they [Vonn and Svindal] will be remembered as one of the best athletes in sport. A good example to all – they brought so many exciting things to alpine skiing which made skiing so much more popular than it was before.”

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