American Lindsey Vonn says she hopes to be given permission to compete against men at an International Ski Federation (FIS) event in 2018.
According to the Denver Post, the United States team will submit a proposal to allow the Vancouver 2010 Olympic downhill champion to take part in a men’s event in Lake Louise in Canada, a traditional stop on the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup tour.
Vonn had previously had a similar attempt rejected by the FIS in 2012 after world skiing’s governing body stated “one gender is not entitled to participate in races of the other.”
The 32-year-old, who is considered one of the leading names in alpine skiing, also has two World Championships titles to her name and believes her achievements in the sport warrant her being given the chance to show what she can do against her male counterparts.
“I know I’m not going to win, but I would like to at least have the opportunity to try,” Vonn told the Denver Post.
“I think I’ve won enough World Cups where I should have enough respect within the industry to be able to have that opportunity.”
However, Vonn, who returned to competition following a 322-day absence through injury with a 13th-place finish during the latest Alpine Skiing World Cup event in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee in Austria on Sunday (January 15), appears unlikely to be successful with her proposal at this stage.
FIS women’s race director Atle Skaardal told the Denver Post that women competing against men was a “meaningless comparison” and “has nothing to do with competition.”
“You can set up a day where a female racer can compete against men racers, just as a show, but it has nothing to do with competition,” said Skaardal.
“I don’t see that it’s going to change in the next years – no driving forces to urge a change like that.
“This is something the teams could do also in training.
“But why would you want to have a competition in this direction?
“I just don’t see the interest.
“For me it’s a meaningless comparison.”
By Liam Morgan
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.