CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Jackie Wiles is an Olympic bronze medalist in part because of Lindsey Vonn.
Vonn has helped support Wiles throughout her career, emotionally and financially. She even offered her a place to stay when Wiles was recovering from surgery in 2018.
‘I just felt honored she wanted to support me, on the hill and off the hill,’ Wiles said after she and Paula Moltzan won bronze in the team combined on Tuesday, Feb. 10. ‘She just became a great friend and role model. I think that is super cool, just the female empowerment that she embodies.’
Early in Wiles’ career, she and Vonn were at a training camp in New Zealand when Vonn learned Wiles wasn’t fully funded by the U.S. Ski Team. That meant Wiles was spending her own money to pay for training and travel and equipment, in a sport where none of those things are cheap.
Vonn personally gave Wiles money and also made her the first ambassador for the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which empowers and supports girls from underserved communities. In return, Wiles put the Lindsey Vonn Foundation logo on her helmet and did promotional events with Vonn for the organization.
Then, when Wiles blew out her left knee days before the Pyeongchang Olympics, Vonn put her up in her home while she recuperated.
‘I remember watching her compete in Pyeongchang and I was sitting on her couch after surgery,’ Wiles recalled.
When Vonn won a bronze in the downhill in Pyeongchang, it made the then-33-year-old the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in Alpine skiing. Now that record belongs to Wiles, who is three months older than Vonn was in 2018.
Vonn and Wiles shared a World Cup podium last month, and finally got to be on the same Olympic team this year.
Vonn is out for the rest of the Olympics after crashing in the downhill on Sunday, Feb. 8, and suffering a complex tibial fracture. She said in an Instagram post that it will require ‘multiple surgeries to fix properly.’
‘She’s a lifelong friend,’ Wiles said. ‘I’m super grateful she’s been part of my life for so long.’