This idea of competing against men, Vonn said, is a long time coming. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, mostly because I train with men and it raises my level of skiing. Men are obviously the pinnacle of our sport — they’re faster and stronger than us. I want to see how I compare to the best in the world. [But] everyone’s training, becoming stronger, faster and smarter about being more athletic from a younger age. Women will inherently become closer to men as time goes on, and there are definitely women already who have enough skill and talent to compete with men.”