PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- She is, without question, the most talked-about four-legged creature at these Olympic Games, her every move captured by gawkers, paparazzi and her owner as well. She is the only animal who has been allowed into the Main Press Center. And each night, she falls asleep in bed next to the most popular ski racer in the world.
She is Lucy Vonn, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who, for the past two years, has served as Lindsey Vonn's closest confidante on the World Cup tour. In a world where Vonn is in and out of hotels like a revolving door, where seemingly everyone surrounding her is there because of her on-the-mountain success, Lucy is the lone unconditional constant.
"I don't think about being in a hotel anymore. I always have someone who's excited to see me. She makes me feel a little less alone. She has no idea if I ski. She doesn't care. And she'll snuggle with me no matter what. It's awesome." Lindsey Vonn on her dog, Lucy
"It's changed my experience being on the road," Vonn said. "I don't think about being in a hotel anymore. I always have someone who's excited to see me. She makes me feel a little less alone. She has no idea if I ski. She doesn't care. And she'll snuggle with me no matter what. It's awesome."
Lindsey repays the unconditional love in the form of constant snuggles, food and an occasional sip of wine. In late January, at a World Cup stop in Austria, Vonn dipped her finger into a glass of Malbec and shared it with an overeager Lucy, much to the chagrin of Vonn's security guard and RV driver. "If she dies someday when we go to work, it's not my fault," the driver said.
"Oh, she's fine," Vonn replied. "She loves wine. She's Italian, remember. She has a fine palate."
Time alone, on the road, can drag. After her divorce from skier Thomas Vonn in 2011, Lindsey dated golfer Tiger Woods for nearly three years. After that she dated former Los Angeles Rams assistant coach Kenan Smith for a year. She has been single since November. Her dogs are her companions. Back home in Vail, there are two other canines she rescued: Leo, who has six pins in his knee after getting hit by a car ("We're bum-knee buddies," Vonn says) and Bear, who's Leo's buddy.
But it's Lucy who often steals the show, largely because she's the one most often in the spotlight on the road.
"There are places we go where people are more excited to see Lucy than they are Lindsey," says Vonn's trainer Alex Bunt.
It was January 2016 when Vonn decided she needed a dog to take with her on the road. She despised tiny yappers but knew she needed a dog small enough that it could travel with her. Leo and Bear weren't an option. She tried adopting dogs from Slovenia, Austria and Italy but was told she couldn't. Then she found a dog place in Bologna, Italy. At first they tried to talk her into a Pomeranian.
"I was like, 'I can't do it. I can't do it,'" she said. "Their eyes stick out of their heads. They can be all hyper and spazzing out. I was like, 'No way.'"
Then they tried to talk her into a wiener dog. "Nope," she said. That's when she saw Lucy, just sitting there staring at her. Vonn leaned down and asked the pup if she wanted to go home with her. Lucy adorably twisted her head. Sold.
"Right away, " she said. "She was the one."
Vonn wasn't allowed to touch Lucy until she paid for her. The dog cost $3,000, an investment that Vonn admits has been well worth it. Lucy travels with Vonn just about everywhere she goes, from media conferences to TV interviews to plane rides. When their flight to Seoul was delayed by 10 hours, Lucy calmly slept under the seat in front of Vonn.
About the only time Lucy isn't around is during races. Vonn often leaves her in the hotel or RV. But as soon as she is back for workouts or therapy, Lucy tags along. She'll curl up on Lindsey's stomach when she's going through physical therapy. Or she'll quietly parade around and steal the show when Vonn is lifting. Vonn jokes that she's a "crazy dog lady." But the reality is, the three pooches have helped in her battle with depression, which she was diagnosed with in 2005. As Vonn was rehabilitating from season-ending injuries in 2013, 2014 and 2016, it was her dogs, she said, that kept her from slipping into a deep depression.
"They rely on me," she said. "I can't sit in bed all day because I have to get up and feed them and take care of them. And I think that's really good for me to have those companions."
So if you see Lucy Vonn during these Olympics, remember, she's far more than Lindsey's companion. She could be one of the secret ingredients to her mom winning a third Olympic medal.