Ski star Vonn back after horror crash

American speed queen Lindsey Vonn has had a successful return to the piste, seven months after her horror crash at the World Ski Championships. The Olympic gold medallist and four-time World Cup overall champion took to the slopes at a two-week US training camp in the Chilean resort of Portillo. Vonn suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn medial collateral ligament in her right knee and a fractured tibial plateau in a crash in her opening race at the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Schladming, Austria, in February. "I've crashed a lot in my career and I'm just getting back up as fast as I can," said Vonn, who with 59 World Cup wins to her credit is within touching distance of Austrian ex-racer Anne-Marie Proell's record of 62. "Unfortunately it's taken me seven months to get back up this time but I was really excited to get back out there. It feels like the right time and my body feels ready." Vonn added: "I can't tell which knee is injured - that's a good sign. I usually go from zero to a hundred. I'm not good in between so this is going to be a challenge." Vonn was initially slated to return to the snow in November as she builds towards defending her downhill Olympic gold medal next February in Sochi, Russia - just over one year after her season-ending crash. Her outings on the weekend consisted of two leisurely runs Saturday on a moderate slope in Portillo, and five runs on Sunday consisting of easy drills and minor arcing on flat terrain. She hopes to return to gate training near the end of the two-week camp. Source: AFP