A smiling Lindsey poses with her father Alan Kildow after a World Cup downhill race in Cortina d’Ampezzo Italy in 2015 Both Lindsey’s father and grandfather were skiers Alan Kildow wanted his daughter to follow in his ski steps He had learned the sport from his father Lindsey’s grandfather Don Kildow inspired her later in life He had certainly inspired Alan who became quite accomplished on the slopes Alan even won the overall title at the 1970 national junior championships But his dreams of Olympic glory were shattered when he tore up his knee skiing on a glacier Something About Sailer Among the coaches that trained Alan Kildow was an Austrian immigrant named Erich Sailer Sailer began coaching at Buck Hill and hired Kildow as an assistant It was Sailer who started to transform young 8 LINDSEY VONN OLYMPIC SKI CHAMPION
Veteran ski instructor and coach Erich Sailer was born in Telfs a town located in Austria in the Alps Sailer helped Lindsey develop her talents on the slopes Starting on the Slopes Lindsey into a skiing superstar Not that Sailer believed that was possible after watching her ski for the first time He was not impressed with six-year-old Lindsey Sailer even felt sorry for her dad He figured Alan Kildow was badly mistaken if he thought Lindsey would ever ski like a champion He recalled his thoughts in an interview with New York Times Magazine Poor Alan Sailer remembered thinking He has a real turtle here She moved extremely slow She moved like a turtle Lindsey did not move like a turtle for long She began racing a year later She gained a passion for the sport Lindsey became so motivated by age eight that she expressed a desire in a school assignment to win more Olympic medals than anyone ever Her talent as well as the demanding style of her father and support of her grandfather made those goals seem possible 9
By that time Lindsey had four siblings two sisters and two brothers Among them were triplets born when she was five years old They would often accompany their mother to Lindsey’s ski events Lindsey traveled with Sailer for a two-week training camp in Europe at age nine It was there that she first feasted her eyes on mountains far bigger than any she had seen before The slopes in the Alps of Austria were far more challenging She was more motivated than ever when she returned to Buck Hill She yearned to go faster and faster Lindsey was not one to brag about her talents She quietly went about her business of improving as a skier Not that she made other skiers very happy Lindsey swished through the Buck Hill slopes much quicker than the competition She proved so superior to those her age that she began QUICK FACT Lindsey got a thrill at age 10 when she met skiing superstar Picabo Street at a ski shop The experience helped inspire Lindsey to become a skier 10 LINDSEY VONN OLYMPIC SKI CHAMPION
Starting on the Slopes Lindsey right poses alongside her mother Linda Krohn center and her sister Laura Kildow far left after placing 10th in a 2015 World Cup race in Italy 11
