After hip replacement, Julia Mancuso encourages Lindsey Vonn, Andy Murray

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Julia Mancuso knows what Lindsey Vonn is going through. She understands Andy Murray’s pain, too.

It was a year ago that Mancuso, a four-time Olympic medalist from Squaw Valley, succumbed to a persistent hip problem and retired just weeks before the Pyeongchang Winter Games.

Now, it’s Vonn who is skiing through pain as she approaches the end of her career — with so little cartilage left in both of her knees that it’s virtually “bone on bone,” as she says.

“I don’t think it’s fair for any athlete to have to finish a career because of injuries but it’s part of the game,” Mancuso said Saturday.

“I just mentioned to her, ‘You can always get a replacement when you’re done if it’s really bad’.