STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

The gloves that are immortalized on the bronze statue of Picabo Street in Champions Meadow ended up on Lindsey Vonn’s hands during Vonn’s bid for a downhill medal this past week.

Vonn had seen a picture of the weathered globes with a big, plum-colored sun and Street’s initials scrawled in marker. And she thought it would be cool to wear them during her downhill bid in the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milan Cortina.

Street, who was at the starting gate of the Olimpia delle Tofane as a color commentator for NBC, just happened to have them and was happy to share.

It’s hard to believe that the actual gloves can still serve their function all these years later.

“It was just my way of being able to show her that, you know, I love you and I believe in you,” Street said, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times, which made note of the Sun Valley statue.

Vonn considered Street her hero when she was a young-and-upcoming racer. And the two were on the U.S. Ski Team together when Street was at the end of her career and Vonn at her beginning.

Unfortunately, the gloves did not make it across the finish line as Vonn crashed 13 seconds into her race after hooking a gate.

Street told reporters she nearly puked when she saw Vonn had drawn bib No. 13 the night before the race. Street recounted that she broke her left leg in a race that took place on Friday the 13th in Crans Montana, Switzerland.