On the slopes, Lindsey Vonn's life has perhaps never been better. Off the slopes, unfortunately, things are considerably more complicated.
The 27-year-old Olympic gold medalist has already won five World Cup races in the early stages of the 2011-2012 ski season, including the World Cup Super-G on Wednesday. After placing first in that event at Beaver Creek in her Colorado home, Vonn dropped into the signature "Tebowing" posture.
Aside from showing that Vonn is in touch with one the sports memes of the moment, her act of Tebowing ramped up the output of a local rumor mill that had already been producing whispered reports of the skier being romantically linked the Broncos' quarterback.
Having announced her divorce from Thomas Vonn, her husband of four years and advisor, in November, Vonn's private life has become very public. Rather than succumb to the emotional strain, she has excelled since the divorce announcement.
As is generally the case with most rumors involving high-profile athletes or celebrities, it remains impossible to tell how much stock to place in various tweets and message board threads.
Regardless of its veracity, the Tebow-Vonn talk is pervasive enough that she recently discussed it with the Associated Press.
"I am single. I'm not with anyone," Vonn said. "I've heard a lot of rumors and a lot of reports."
Asked about Tebow the quarterback and Tebow the pose, she addressed both.
"He's proving them all wrong," Vonn said. "In a way, that's what I'm trying to do as well -- to be able to compete under any circumstance and keep fighting and doing my best every day. Just because I `Tebow,' doesn't mean I'm dating him. I said that if I won in Colorado, I would `Tebow' because I admire what he's doing.
Of course, Tim wasn't the member of the Tebow brood at Beaver Creak when Vonn took first place in the Super-G. It was his brother, Robby, that was slopeside and congratulated Vonn in the finish area. According to the Denver Post, Robby was a member of the "Vonntourage" Vonn told the Post that she asked for Robby's permission before joining the Tebowing craze.
Robby Tebow told the Post that he'd met Vonn at the ESPY Awards in July. Both Vonn and Tim Tebow appeared on stage together when the polarizing quarterback presented her with the Best Female Athlete Award.
UPDATE: A previous version of this story stated that Lindsey Vonn is a native of Colorado. She was born in Minnesota but is currently a Colorado resident.
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