Story highlights
- Lindsey Vonn wins record-breaking seventh downhill title
- It's also a record 18th World Cup title for the American ski star
(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 couldn'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."
