Lindsey Vonn winning at glam game

maneuvers on the slalom course.

By RACHEL BLOUNT, Star Tribune

Last update: November 28, 2009 - 11:43 PM
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Lindsey Vonn got to meet one of her sports idols last summer, when she watched the finals at Wimbledon and scored a meeting with Roger Federer. She was a bit surprised when the tennis star's family immediately recognized her.

"They knew who I was,'' the World Cup ski champion and Burnsville native said. "I got recognized by random people at Wimbledon, and at the French Open, people stopped me and said, 'Aren't you Lindsey Vonn?' At this point, it's just a couple of people here and there. It's not to the point where I get recognized on the street.''

That might not last for long. Two World Cup overall titles in the past two seasons have earned Vonn an impressive roster of sponsors that are banking on her being the breakout star of February's Winter Olympics. She is approaching her third Olympics at the top of her game, which has already netted her endorsement deals for everything from cold medicine to mascara to bread to ski gear.

Vonn is an established star in Europe, the center of the ski racing world. She's found less fame in the cluttered American sports landscape, where her sport gets little attention save for a few weeks during the Olympics. But her consistent success, combined with her charisma, photogenic looks and unpretentious manner, have attracted a variety of sponsors eager to align themselves with an athlete predicted to win big in Vancouver.

"She has the triple crown when it comes to marketing," said Under Armour executive Steve Battista, whose company signed Vonn four years ago. "She's a great competitor and an amazing athlete, and she has a magnetic personality.

"She's already got a pretty wide portfolio, and the world is only just beginning to meet her. Like Michael Phelps in Beijing, she is absolutely going to be the face of the Winter Olympics."
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