( CNN ) Lindsey Vonn lifted her crystal globe prize with pride after winning the World Cup downhill title for a seventh time , Wednesday . A crystal ball might be more useful for the American star , who has faced plenty of slippery slopes in her dramatic skiing career . The 30-year-old has twice fought back from a career-threatening right knee injury but this season she has been back to her brilliant best . At the final meeting of the ski season in the pretty French resort of Meribel , Vonn raced to more records on the women 's World Cup tour -- a seventh downhill season title and her 18th crystal globe overall . The sparkly spheres are handed out to winners of the World Cup individual disciplines . `` This downhill title probably means more to me than the others because I 've been through so much , '' Vonn told CNN 's Alpine Edge . `` It means everything to me , this is what I 've been working so hard for for the last two years . `` This season definitely got off to a better start than I expected and I 've had some ups and downs for sure but to come away with a globe after a long season is something that I 'm really proud of , so it could n't be better for me right now , I 'm so thrilled . '' Vonn , who credits boyfriend Tiger Woods with inspiring her recovery , fended off the challenge of Austria 's Anna Fenninger to claim the downhill crown by 103 points . Despite the softening snow , the American won the downhill race with a fastest time of one minute , 29.87 seconds while Fenninger finished off the pace in eighth . As she crossed the line , she punched the air and screamed at the crowd when she saw she was in first position . After receiving her crystal globe , she celebrated with her team by popping champagne and spraying it over her nearby supporters . Vonn and Fenninger will renew their rivalry Thursday for the super-G title , where Vonn holds an eight-point lead over her challenger . If Vonn wins tomorrow she will equal Swede Ingemar Stenmark , who owns an overall record of 19 crystal globes . `` I 'm not thinking about that , '' Vonn insisted with a laugh . `` It 's always hard to get titles - it 's a long season , and it takes a lot to win the crystal globe but tomorrow I 'm just going to be focusing on skiing my best , just as I did today . ''
Alpine Edge wins record-breaking seventh downhill title . It 's also a record 18th World Cup title for the American ski star .