Vonn’s speed on display in practice

Ski great Lindsey Vonn was 10th fastest in a training run on Thursday for her first World Cup downhill in six years. Three weeks after her World Cup comeback with a titanium knee at age 40 in a super-G, Vonn completed the two-kilometer Karl Schranz course in St. Anton, Austria, 2.55 seconds behind Federica Brignone of Italy. The American star was clocked at close to 68 mph at a fast section of the hill where she won a downhill in December 2007. A second practice is planned on Friday before the race on Saturday. Vonn has won 43 World Cup downhills — a record for men and women — among her 82 career wins that is third on the all-time list. Mikaela Shiffrin, who’s recovering after a crash in giant slalom last month, has 99 and Ingemar Stenmark won 86 in the 1970s and ’80s. Vonn retired in February 2019 after the world championships in Sweden. Her surprise comeback is building back to a return in her favored downhill event. Vonn also should compete next week at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, — the women’s course for the 2026 Olympics, where she won six downhills and six super-Gs.

Junior team set to honor Gaudreau

Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey number will be retired by his junior team at a ceremony this weekend honoring him and his late brother, Matthew. The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League will raise Gaudreau’s No. 8 to the rafters on Saturday with the brothers’ parents, Guy and Jane, sisters Katie and Kristen, and Johnny’s widow, Meredith, scheduled to be in attendance at the arena in eastern Iowa. Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau died Aug. 29 when they were struck by an SUV while riding bicycles on a rural New Jersey road near their hometown of Carneys Point. The driver charged with killing them pleaded not guilty earlier this week after turning down a prosecution offer of 35 years in prison. Gaudreau’s No. 8 — not the No. 13 he’s better known for wearing while playing at Boston College, in the NHL with the Flames and Blue Jackets and internationally while representing the U.S. — will be the first retired in club history. Gaudreau was Dubuque’s leading scorer the season he played there (2010-11) and led it to the league championship.

Ex-Chelsea boss Potter has new job

West Ham hired Graham Potter as the coach on Thursday, a day after Julen Lopetegui was fired. Potter has been out of management since he was fired by Chelsea in 2023 after just seven months in the job at Stamford Bridge. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. Potter takes over a team that has won only three of its last 11 games and is 14th in the standings, seven points above the relegation zone. Former Real Madrid and Spain coach Lopetegui’s departure was confirmed on Wednesday. He was hired in May to take the club to new heights after previous manager David Moyes ended West Ham’s 43-year wait for a major trophy by winning the Europa Conference League in 2023. Potter, 49, enjoyed an impressive rise after beginning his career at Ostersunds in Sweden in 2011. He took over Swansea in 2018 and by 2022 was in charge of Premier League giant Chelsea after a stint at Brighton. But his reputation took a hit at Chelsea, which was undergoing a turbulent period following the takeover by American owners. He lasted just six months after a run of just seven wins from 22 league games. —AP