Who won the women's downhill gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics?

Lindsey Vonn won the women's downhill gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Vonn represented the United States and completed the Whistler course in 1 minute 44.19 seconds. Germany's Julia Mancuso won silver, while Austria's Elisabeth Görgl took bronze. Vonn's victory was her first Olympic gold medal.

The downhill is alpine skiing's fastest Olympic discipline. Competitors race individually over a long course containing steep drops, gates and jumps, and the fastest time wins. Unlike slalom events, the course uses relatively few gates, allowing much higher speeds.

Vonn had been the dominant World Cup downhill skier before Vancouver, but an injured shin nearly prevented her from competing. She recovered sufficiently to start and became the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold.