Olympian Lindsey Vonn says she plans on representing her country and not the president at the 2018 winter games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“Well, I hope to represent the people of the United States, not the president,” Vonn told CNN.
The alpine skier, who long dominated her sport outside of the marquee quadrennial event, boasts just two Olympic medals, winning a gold in the downhill and a bronze in the Super-G at the 2010 Vancouver games. The 33-year-old seeks to overcome age, injuries, bad luck at the Olympics, and recent poor performances to reclaim the top spot on the podium in South Korea.
“I want to represent our country well,” Vonn explained. “I don’t think that there are a lot of people currently in our government that do that.”
The games, which take place from February 9th through the 25th, represent perhaps her last chance to “represent [her] country well.”
Though Vonn traveled to the White House several times during Barack Obama’s presidency, including a visit accompanying then-boyfriend Tiger Woods to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in 2014, do not expect her to accept Donald Trump’s congratulations in-person after the 2018 games. When asked whether she would accept an invitation to the White House should she win in Pyeongchang, Vonn offered a blunt “Absolutely not.”