{"id":86721,"date":"2026-02-13T00:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/why-picabo-street-cried-all-night-before-lindsey-vonns-final-race\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T00:06:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T03:06:33","slug":"why-picabo-street-cried-all-night-before-lindsey-vonns-final-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/why-picabo-street-cried-all-night-before-lindsey-vonns-final-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Picabo Street ‘cried all night’ before Lindsey Vonn’s final race"},"content":{"rendered":"


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MILAN\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s a lot of love in those gloves.<\/p>\n

Before her fateful downhill run Sunday \u2014 one that ended with a violent crash<\/a> after 13 seconds \u2014 Lindsey Vonn<\/a> pulled on a pair of out-of-production gloves from her childhood skiing idol, Picabo Street<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The gloves are weathered and white, their brightness dulled by the decades, with the brand name \u201creusch\u201d across the knuckles and a big, plum-colored sun on top. On the wrist straps are Street\u2019s initials, scrawled in marker.<\/p>\n

Vonn didn\u2019t announce the gesture, nor did NBC, which employs Street as a color commentator. Street was at the starting gate of the Olimpia delle Tofane course for Sunday\u2019s coverage.<\/p>\n

Street confirmed to The Times that the two longtime friends made the glove exchange before the Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she saw a picture of me in those gloves, she was like, \u2018Oh, those would be cool,\u2019\u201d Street told The Times. \u201cAnd I caught wind of it, and was like, \u2018Well, I just happen to have them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Those gloves are especially meaningful to Street because they are immortalized on the bronze statue of her in Sun Valley, Idaho<\/a>. The sun across the top is visible in the sculpted detail.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just my way of being able to show her that, you know, I love you and I believe in you,\u201d Street said. \u201cAnd wear these, they\u2019ll be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two were on the U.S. Ski Team together \u2014 Street at the end of her career, Vonn at the beginning \u2014 and have been close friends for years. Vonn co-produced the documentary \u201cPicabo<\/a>,\u201d and in it tells Street, \u201cYou are my hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The gloves Picabo Street gave to Lindsey Vonn before Vonn\u2019s race in the Olympic downhill on Feb. 8.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Picabo Street)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Street, whose skiing and who\u2019s first name helped make her a pop-culture sensation during her Olympic career is a huge fan of Vonn. In speaking to The Times, she said on multiple occasions, \u201cI\u2019m not the story here, so this isn\u2019t about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, there are some uncanny coincidences. For instance, Vonn was the 13th skier in Sunday\u2019s lineup and her run lasted 13 seconds before her fall, in which she broke her left leg. Late in her career, Street suffered a broken left leg in a race that took place on Friday the 13th in Crans Montana, Switzerland, where Vonn sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in a fall at the end of January.<\/p>\n

Street had an emotional reaction when she learned what bib number Vonn would be wearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI about puked when I saw number 13,\u201d Street said. \u201cI got very little sleep. I cried all night long, and I cried in the morning. I couldn\u2019t shake it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said her main concern now is her friend\u2019s return to health, not for competitive skiing but for life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want her leg to work for her,\u201d Street said. \u201cI want her nerves to work for her. I want her to have function of her whole body again, and in case she wants to have a family, she can play with her kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gloves weren\u2019t the first piece of equipment Street loaned to Vonn.<\/p>\n

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\"Lindsey <\/picture>\n
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Lindsey Vonn prepares to leave the downhill starting gate while wearing Picabo Street\u2019s gloves on Feb. 8.<\/p>\n

(Screenshot courtesy of NBC)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cI remember when I raced in Salt Lake, and I retired, and I was packed up and leaving the house we were staying in,\u201d Street said, referring to the 2002 Winter Olympics. \u201cShe came into the house, and I remember giving her a huge hug and giving her a couple of items \u2014 one of which she wore in those Games \u2014 which was a sleeve around her braid, because we both have really long hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wore a red, white and blue American-flag neoprene sleeve around my hair, and she wore one as well. I handed her that there and was like, \u2018Here you go. Go get \u2018em.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After Vonn\u2019s crash Sunday, Street told her own mother about loaning the gloves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Oh God, mom, she was wearing my gloves,\u2019\u201d she said, her voice catching with emotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first my mom said, \u2018Oh, honey,\u2019 and then she goes, \u2018OK, let\u2019s flip this. Maybe the gloves kept her from getting injured worse.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n