Tiger's girlfriend Vonn to miss Winter Olympics in Sochi

Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn will miss next month's Sochi Games after failing to recover from a knee injury, the American said on Tuesday.

Vonn, the standout name in women's Alpine skiing and who would have been one of the highest-profile athletes in Sochi, announced the news on her Facebook page.

"I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi," Vonn, girlfriend of golfer Tiger Woods, said.

"I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level."

Image: Lindsey Vonn

Photograph: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images