Vonn wins gold in Olympic downhill

Vonn became the first American to win the event in the 17 times it has been contested.

American Julia Mancuso took the silver, giving the United States its first 1-2 finish in an Olympic alpine event in 26 years.

The bronze went to Elisabeth Goergl of Austria, who finished 1.45 seconds behind Vonn.

The icy downhill course took its toll, with five of the first 23 skiers falling.

Swedish star Anja Paerson posted intermediate times that appeared to have her heading for a silver medal, but she crashed heavily on the final jump.

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