Lindsey Vonn, the girlfriend of world top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods, is set to resume skiing after a sixth month absence caused by a severe knee injury.
According to ESPN, the Olympic champ is set to take to the slopes with team U.S.A. in Chile this weekend, some three months ahead of the November date doctors originally predicted for her after they performed surgery on her mangled right knee.
Since then, Vonn has spent her days in the gym trying to repair her leg and get her body stronger. She told ESPN her mind has always been on the times she has scheduled for this weekend.
"Because I feel like I'm claustrophobic when I'm not skiing," she added. "I just want to go fast."
Though her first runs are coordinated to be not too aggressive, ESPN reports Vonn later hopes to be able to navigate through some slalom gates and maybe even speed things up the way she prides herself on doing.
"But my expectations are sometimes a little bit out of whack," she told the website.
The four-time overall World Cup champion begin dating Woods in March. Having previously gone through major knee surgery himself, she said he has been a "great supporter" to her as she's gone through her own ordeal.
"It was great to have him help me," she told ESPN. "It's been a slow process. I'm not very good at being patient, either. But he helped me with that."
Vonn added she is eyeing a possible return to competition in late November at a stop in Beaver Creek, Colo., which is near her hometown of Vail. That's about three months ahead of the Sochi Olympics in February, where she will defend her downhill title.
"I wouldn't change my odds, just because I was injured," she warned those taking bets on against her defending her title. "I'm going to be back just as good, if not better, than I was before."
Though she shredded her ACL and MCL ligaments, Vonn claims she's had crashes "much worse." She told ESPN she viewed the wipeout dozens of times, just to figure out what happened.
She insists the knee is feeling so good she no longer has to ice it following workouts. "It's about 98 percent equal to the good knee," she told ESPN, adding even the scar is now hardly visible.
"I'm really relaxed and happy and kind of at peace with my life," she added, admitting that Woods is a big part of that. Still, after having divorced her first husband, Thomas, Vonn insists she never plans to remarry.
"I'm done with that," she told ESPN. "The box is checked. "I don't really believe that you need to be married to someone to be their life partner." Someday down the road, after skiing is over, she added she would like to start a family.
"I want to make sure that I've done what I want to do in my sport," she said. "I don't want to leave skiing early. I want to feel like I've done everything I can do. So, we'll see."
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