Lindsey Vonn ends career with bronze as Ilka Stuhec takes victory in downhill

Lindsey Vonn was denied a gold medal in the final run of her skiing career after finishing third behind defending champion Ilka Stuhec in the women's downhill at the 2019 Alpine world championships on Sunday.

Stuhec, of Slovenia, finished 0.49 seconds ahead of Vonn in Are, Sweden, with the American bowing to the crowd following her last ever run.

Lindsey Vonn was denied a gold medal in the final run of her skiing career after finishing third behind defending champion Ilka Stuhec in the women's downhill at the 2019 Alpine world championships on Sunday. [Photo: AP]

That victory also saw Stuhec become the first skier to successfully defend her Ladies' Downhill title since Maria Walliser achieved the same feat in 1989.

Corinne Suter of Switzerland pushed Vonn down to the bronze-medal position after she finished 0.23 seconds behind Stuhec.

Battling pain in both of her surgically repaired knees, 34-year-old Vonn recently brought her retirement date forward.

She can now reflect on becoming the most successful female skier of all time with 82 World Cup wins.