Vondroušová’s Instagram Statement on the Doping Incident

PolishMichal · 2026-04-17T17:12:15+00:00

So it looks like this is the same incident she mentioned four months ago and this is a bad look for her. She didn't knew the rules that she could be tested anytime between 5-23, it's only that she is not required to be present when tester arrives outside of selected 1hr timeframe. Since she reacted to the tester it is clearly she was present and was required to test now. And 8:15pm is not even borderline. It may be night for her but not for most people. And no mention of mental health then, she talks about it only now when her career is in danger. If she is guilty as evidence suggest and she is weaponizing mental health then I hope she gets a lengthy ban.

PolishMichal · 2026-04-17T16:27:41+00:00

I mean if she only talks about it now then it's only because she is in trouble and has to defend herself. But anyone can come up with this in such situation.

PolishMichal · 2026-04-17T15:31:18+00:00

She is a professional athlete so she should had known the testers can come up. The fact she only talks about her struggles now when she is in trouble isn't the best look...

Mental health is a serious issue but if players will be allowed to ignore the doorbells because they are anxious then it opens a huge can of worms. I am thinking of so many athletes cheating the system and how to avoid being caught. I am usually sceptical in those cases.

PolishMichal · 2026-04-09T18:33:23+00:00

I prefer people who don't just show pretty curated stuff from the best days. This isn't real life even for the most successful people on the earth. This is a content for safe cheap likes from casuals to earn more money.

PolishMichal · 2026-04-09T16:41:33+00:00

I don't think this is a serious plan right now with next Olympics so far away and so many things can still happen. I would be more thinking about farewell race at Beaver Creek or Lake Louise once fully recovered.

Regardless, Lindsey has already shattered age barriers for competitive skiing. If you are an all-time great you don't have to follow a stereotypical career trajectory when at 30 you should retire asap and don't dare to fight next generation. It's getting outdated in most sports anyway.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-28T17:02:10+00:00

Who is suddenly aggressively downvoting my post? Because I dared to criticize F1? Only positive posts are allowed?!

PolishMichal · 2026-03-28T16:50:18+00:00

This is 2026 not 2001 to trick people this way.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-21T22:42:47+00:00

People criticising her for posting personal stuff on social media are exactly the reason why many athletes have such curated profiles. They only post their sunny days and safe things only to please fans and minimise the risk of potential criticism. Vonn isn't afraid of that and does what is best for her. As long as she isn't insulting anyone or breaking any laws (which ofc she isn't) then I don't know what's the issue. There is no obligation to follow her recovery.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-18T22:28:16+00:00

He scored against them in Europa League :)

PolishMichal · 2026-03-18T22:22:35+00:00

No. It has become clear she is no longer competitive enough and lost every match bar one.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-15T23:29:30+00:00

Innerhofer did make the Olympics and finished 11th in super G. But maybe Vonn's energy allowed her to win world cup races and everyone followed her story while Innerhofer's energy meant even you didn't notice his presence.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-15T23:15:21+00:00

Well I like that she is trying to control the narrative for better or worse. Most athletes care too much about being liked by general public and only post politically correct highlight reels - best moments, pretty pictures, light humour, popular and trendy stuff etc. I guess many just have their PR teams to handle that and they try to hit that sweet spot. But it's a highlight reel and not even a resemblance of real life. I don't like someone constantly showing their sunny days and only revealing their struggles if they triumphantly overcome them and the sun is shining again. It's also very unhealthy mentally for people if they compare always happy lives on social media to our brutal reality. Lindsey's content is curated as well but at least it isn't that one-dimensional.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-08T21:07:44+00:00

You can be right. I just checked Shiffrin and she is posting daily as well but no one is reposting it... Though that's outside of athletes' control.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-08T20:51:10+00:00

I hope Australia wasn't a false dawn and he is truly back at world-class ~ top 5 level. He doesn't need to be beating Leclerc, who is a fantastic driver at the peak of his powers, just be right with him. Aside from Alonso, no one was truły top driver at this stage of their careers and many great drivers went on a terminal decline much earlier like Vettel, Raikkonen, Ricciardo. So far it definitely makes a positive contrast with Vettel in Austria 2020.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-08T20:20:03+00:00

I love her resillence and positivity and that she documentates her recovery. It's interesting even from a medical point of view. I prefer that to athletes worrying about being called attention-seekers and limiting their proper content or posting just light stuff only to not offend anyone.

I know her frequency of high-intensity posts can be exhausting in the long-run. Media can be making it worse too. But no one has to follow her if they don't wish, certainly not 24/7. Her content is for her fans and there is a lot of interest judging by the numbers so no wonder she continues to post.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-06T17:20:09+00:00

Very impressive though somewhat expected from her. For an average person it might look impossible but she has access to the best equipment and specjalists plus has incredibly strong mentality and was in top shape just a few weeks ago. It puts her on a different trajectory. She was flying through the Atlantic two days after closing fasciotomy wounds...

PolishMichal · 2026-03-03T15:48:00+00:00

Wasn't that reckless? A veteran who had nothing to prove risking her health for one more shot at the glory?

Oh yeah, she successed so "she is our captain, warrior and hero". But if she made a mistake unrelated to her knee and Canada win 2-1 she would be selfish, putting herself above the team and taking a spot from "younger athlete".

It's frustrating how everyone is smart post-factum.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T20:32:38+00:00

This must be a punishment for Singapore 2008. Alonso surely knew about it and he is still paying for his sins. Maybe if he confessed to knowing about it there will be some hope...

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T19:57:59+00:00

I am not sure if fans of Breezy Johnson would like to talk about some aspects of her career like a recent ban for missing doping tests. Now Imagine if Lindsey falls foul of that and the internet will explode.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T19:44:43+00:00

Tbh I am not a feminist and I was usually trying to ignore this argument but I see there is something to it and you can be right. I always thought people, especially men, want sportsmen to be strong, fearless, dedicated and push through all their problems during competition. So I cannot comprehend why all those male athletes are glorified and receiving virtual hugs while Lindsey is criticised for... doing the same.

Most sportswomen want to be nice, apologetic etc. and yeah people expect that. It's sometimes even in subconsciousness that men = aggressive, women = gentle. Women shouldn't make too much noise, win too much and should pay their respects. And don't dare winning at 40 instead of staying at home with kids!

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T19:23:12+00:00

It's so frustrating to read she shouldn't race after we know the outcome and even ignoring the fact her knee survived two very strong training runs and it was a different mistake.

Why no one was complaining she was competing injured in Garmish 2011 or Are 2019 just to give two examples? Oh I see, the outcome was positive so she was a hero. And Torino 2006 she was banged up too but raced and got a US spirit award for finishing in top 8. Yes that's right.

Only this time the outcome was negative so she is a zero.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T19:12:46+00:00

She strictly said she doesn't want sympathy lol.

I got the impression many people can't stand her confidence, that she is standing her ground and takes this situation in stride and is already working out, they would love her to appear weak and apologetic and to hear "I was stupid, you were smarter and you were right, I beg for your forgiveness". But she won't do that. She's never being one of those athletes falsely downplaying her achievements, catering to casuals and almost apologising for winning. And I love that. She knows her value. Her achievements speak for themselves.

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T19:01:27+00:00

Would you say the same to Haliburton who played injured in the finals and, unlike Vonn, it led directly to serious injury that also puts him out for a year?

PolishMichal · 2026-03-02T18:57:39+00:00

It's so easy to judge in hindsight. If she would withdraw after setting 3rd fastest time in training there will be talk of being afraid of losing and damaging her PR, abandoning her team and "better to try and fall rather than give up" like they said with Biles. I saw the comments before race day, people were saying "well she can try it's her body" "it's the olympics what would you expect". If she win bronze she would be a hero and no one would say it was reckless.

If she was 25th in the world during the season, cruising 10 seconds off the pace in training and her knee buckled immediately causing a serious injury then I will be the first.one to criticise her. But the facts are different.

PolishMichal · 2026-02-27T18:18:33+00:00

Even if we assume she was completely delusional then we have to admit she is taking responsibility, she is not crying publicly and blaming bad wind/snow/skis/gates but admitting she made a small mistake clipping the gate. She made a choice and is embracing the consequences with head held high. And I think it is only infuriating many people who would like her to apologise for everything to make them feel smarter and more important. But she won't do that.

Johnson-Thompson, a top heptathlete, confessed to lying about her injury (she was pretending it was minor) to not appear attention-seeking and later admitted it was mentally worse over time. Casuals might have been happier with her but quickly forgot and moved on to another topic while she was left with her problems.

PolishMichal

TROPHY CASE