Lindsey Vonn caps career with third-place finish in World Cup downhill

ARE, Sweden — Lindsey Vonn walked off with her career haul of medals in her right hand, the gold, silver and bronze clinking together almost weighing her down.

Or was it the bulging knee braces and metal support rods inside her vast array of once-broken bones?

Whatever it was, the sound was a reminder of what Vonn has come to symbolize — an athlete who came back from one major injury after another to win more ski races than any other woman.