will not attend the White House reception if she wins a gold medal. Vonn made it clear in her statement that she feels that all Olympians represent the United States people, and not the leaders. She was quoted in the CNN article saying, "Well I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the President." 2018 At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Vonn tied for 6th in Women's Super-G. She won the bronze medal in women's downhill. Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet. In a tearful interview following the woman's downhill race, Vonn stated: "Our family never gives up and I never gave up. I kept working hard and I'm really proud of this medal and I know he [her grandfather] is too." She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always." 2019 In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Having previously suggested that she would continue until she had broken Stenmark's record for World Cup race victories, she confirmed that she would retire in 2019 regardless of whether she managed to surpass Stenmark's tally, explaining that "physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense... I really would like to be active when I'm older, so I have to look to the future and not just be so focused on what's in front of me". She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise at the end of November. However the following month she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races. Subsequently, she announced that she would delay her retirement so she could compete at Lake Louise the following season. Vonn finally made her season debut at Cortina d'Ampezzo in January, finishing 15th and 9th in the two downhills there before failing to finish the super-G: after the latter race she told reporters that she was considering retiring immediately,