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Olympian’s Milton grandparents will be hoping, praying for good things

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Photo by AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File

In this Jan. 22, 2010, file photo, Lindsey Vonn of the United States, takes a curve on her way to winining an Women's World Cup super-G ski race, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The Vancouver Olympics are shaping up to be Lindsey Vonn's shining moment, the apex of a great career that began years ago when her father first helped introduce her to skiing.

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Shirley M. Kildow

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Donald L. Kildow

MILTON TOWNSHIP — The whole world will watch with anticipation when Lindsey Vonn hits the slopes Sunday—if her injured shin allows her to compete.

That excitement is a snowflake on a mountain compared to that of her grandma and grandpa.

Don and Shirley Kildow of Milton Township will watch for their granddaughter, Vonn, to compete as an Alpine ski racer in the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

The two will host gatherings of other family members to watch the events.

“It just makes your heart go so fast,” Shirley Kildow said of watching Vonn compete.

The Associated Press on Thursday reported that Vonn’s competition might be cut short because of a shin injury. Kildow on Thursday said she was confident that Vonn will compete, although she might bow out of one of her five events, Kildow said.

“If she races on Sunday, which I look for her to do that, it starts at 10 a.m. Vancouver time,” Kildow said.

Watching their two-time overall World Cup champion family member is not a new thrill for the Kildows, of course.

As a 17-year-old in 2002, Vonn competed in the Olympics in Salt Lake City. She also competed in the 2006 games in Turin despite an injury.

Shirley remembers traveling regularly to Colorado to watch Vonn compete and watching her then 16-year-old granddaughter in her first World Cup race in Utah.

Vonn hopes to get a third World Cup title this year. She is in first place now but has been going back and forth in the standings with her best friend, Maria Riesch of Germany, Kildow said.

“But right now, we’re concentrating on the Olympics and hoping and praying for good things,” Kildow said.