Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

The American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn has swept the season-opening World Cup downhill doubleheader at Alberta, notching her seventh win in six years in the Canadian Rockies.

After capturing the season's first downhill in a tricky snow storm at Lake Louise, Vonn was back on top of the podium 24 hours later flashing through cold, clear conditions to clock a winning time of one minute, 50.06 seconds.

It was the 14th career downhill victory for the twice overall World Cup champion, half of them coming at the posh Canadian resort.