50 facts about Lindsey Vonn: At the age of 14, she became the only female American ever to win Italy's Trofeo Topolino contest

With a grandfather and a father who were competitive skiers, little Lindsey started carving the local hill aged just three. Learn 50 facts about Lindsey Vonn.

1. Born in 1984, Vonn had her earliest experiences on skis falling down and picking herself up again in a US state not particularly known for being mountainous, Minnesota.

2. With a grandfather and a father who were competitive skiers, little Lindsey started carving the local hill aged just three.

3. She began racing at seven.

4. By nine she was doing international events.

5. Her talent as a small child proved so big that the whole family considered relocating for the sake of better training opportunities. Eventually her parents, brothers and sister all moved to Vail.

6. At the age of 14, she became the only female American ever to win Italy's Trofeo Topolino contest "dubbed" "Junior-Junior Worlds" and her name was entered into the Golden Book of Champions alongside girls who had gone on to win the Overall World Cup title.

7. In her first year of top-level competition, 15-year-old Lindsey finished on the podium at several NorAm events.

8. Her first International Ski Federation (FIS) victory came in 2001.

9. In 2001 she also bagged a Super Series win, as well as the Bronze in Combined at the US National Championships.

10. In the same season she raced in her first Slalom World Cup.

11. In the Super-G in Val d'Isere she scored her first World Cup points, finishing 26th.

12. Her progress continued in 2003 with a Silver medal at the Junior World Championships.

13. In 2003 she also won a Silver and a Bronze at the US Nationals.

14. She continued to progress in 2003-04, winning two Gold medals at the US Championships, two medals at Junior Worlds, and making her first World Cup podium in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

15. The following season was even more exciting, with Lindsey capturing her maiden World Cup race victory and attending her first World Championships.

16. She racked up 13 top-five finishes in World Cup and World Championship events, standing on the podium six times and ending the season ranked sixth overall in the world.

17. She took German lessons to make her day-to-day life in the major Alpine skiing countries easier.

18. It's not unusual for Lindsey to be in the gym at 6am, carefully warming up in preparation for the stresses which the body will soon have to deal with.

19. The series of victories not only garnered her the top rung in the downhill World Cup but also fulfilled her childhood dream: her first victory in the Overall World Cup.

20. Accompanied by Red Bull's Athletes Special Projects team and the speed coaches of the US ski team, such as Alex Hoedlmoser, Lindsey, by now Lindsey Vonn, has her sights firmly set on one ambitious goal: to become an all-round winner.

21. Lindsey became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the Downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She also netted bronze in the Super G.

22. In 2011, Lindsey again took the Downhill, Combined and Super G titles, only narrowly missing out on a fourth overall World Cup title.

23. Lindsey claimed another silver in the Downhill at the 2011 World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

24. As a measure of Lindsey's impact on international sport, she was named Laureus World Sports Awards Sportswoman of the Year 2010, as well as the 2010 and 2011 ESPY awards.

25. But all these medals and gongs pale into insignificance next to one particular achievement - as one of the few truly recognisable faces in skiing Lindsey bagged a part in her favourite TV show, Law & Order.

26. At the start of the 2011-12 season in Sölden, Lindsey finally realized one of her biggest goals: winning a Giant Slalom.

27. Despite private worries after her divorce from her husband, Lindsey also surpassed Renate Götschl's Super G record with 18 victories and took the Austrian's place in the rankings for most female World Cup wins.

28. In the 2011-12 season, Lindsey won 12 races to take her third with 53 victories.

29. Falling ill at the beginning of November 2012, Lindsey recovered sufficiently for the speed events and she swept all three races at one of her favourite venues, Lake Louise, in Canada, at the beginning of December.

30. After her heavy crash at Schladming, Austria on February 5, 2013 had ended the previous season prematurely for Lindsey, she dedicated herself to rehab for six months before getting back on her skis.

31. Lindsey's hard work with the Red Bull Athletes Special Projects unit in Austria in July 2013 following her knee surgery paid off as she was back on the piste on August 31 at Portillo in Chile.

32. After undergoing an intensive period of physiotherapy Lindsey was forced to abandon her hopes of skiing in Sochi, announcing on January 7, 2014 that her knee was still too unstable since the incident in Val d'Isère and made safe skiing impossible. The 2013/14 season ended for Lindsey with further knee surgery and total focus on making a complete recovery from her injuries.

33. Lindsey Vonn's remarkable recovery from a two year injury layoff saw her back to her best and breaking records during the 2014/15 winter season.

34. The American was then able to maintain her winning momentum in 2015 when she hit the slopes of Cortina d'Ampezzo in January. A downhill victory drew the Olympic gold medallist level with Moser-Pröll on 62 World Cup wins and the next day Lindsey went one better by clocking first place in the Super-G race. With her family by her side, Lindsey Vonn was crowned the best female skier of all-time.

35. Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne and Alan Lee Kildow.

36. She grew up in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, in Burnsville, Minnesota.

37. Vonn was on skis at age two, before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick.

38. When Vonn was 10 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her heroine and role model.

39. Vonn commuted to Colorado to train for several years before her family moved to Vail, Colorado, in the late 1990s.

40. Vonn attended University of Missouri High School, an online program through the university's Center for Distance and Independent Study.

41. She has appeared on The Today Show, Access Hollywood, and The Late Show with David Letterman.

42. Has picked up endorsements from notable companies such as Head, Oakley, Red Bull, Rolex, and Under Armour.

43. In 2010, her assets were estimated to be worth over 2.5 million dollars.

44. Vonn married fellow 2002 Olympian and former U.S. Ski Team athlete Thomas Vonn on September 29, 2007, at the Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, Utah.

45. In November 2011 the couple announced initiation of divorce proceedings after four years of marriage.

46. Lindsey dated golfer Tiger Woods from March 2013 to May 2015.

47. Vonn's nicknames are "Kildon", "Don Don" and "The Don."

48. Her hobbies include cycling, tennis (often stating her favorite player Roger Federer), reading, and watching NBC's Law & Order.

49. Vonn appeared as a guest star in the final series episode ("Rubber Room") of Law & Order on May 24, 2010.

50. Vonn trains 6-8 hours a day for 6 days a week during the summer.

Source: lindseyvonn.com, Wikipedia.org