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BEAVER CREEK, Colo. -- Lindsey Vonn is injured and unsure of her plans heading into the Sochi Games. In years past, that very thought might send a very cold shiver through the U.S. speed team. At least this time, the Americans are loaded with depth in downhill and super-G. Julia Mancuso, Stacey Cook, Leanne Smith and Laurenne Ross are the skiers the Americans could be counting on for medals in Russia if Vonn, the reigning Olympic downhill champion, cant compete after hurting her surgically repaired right knee again. All of them made the podium at least once last season and all of them were top 16 in the downhill standings. Add Alice McKennis, who won a World Cup event last season but is still recovering from a shattered right leg, and its an even more dynamic mix. This also creates quite a few tough decisions for womens coach Alex Hoedlmoser, since there are only four race spots available in Sochi in the downhill and again in the super-G. That means someone well-deserving could be left out of the starting gate. "One of the best traits of our team is everyone has the understanding that if you get beat out for that spot, its not somebody elses fault. Its probably something you did or your own fault in some way," said Cook, who had the fastest time in downhill training on Wednesday. "Theres not a lot of the blame game that you might see typically." Vonn remains unsure just how much her latest knee injury will affect her Sochi hopes. In an interview on NBCs "Today" show Wednesday, the four-time overall World Cup champion was asked whether her knee can withstand the pressure of training for the Olympics. "To be honest, I dont know," Vonn replied. Vonn crashed during a downhill training run in Copper Mountain last week and partially tore a reconstructed ligament in her knee. She skipped the events in Beaver Creek, but is hoping to be ready for the upcoming races in Lake Louise, Alberta. "I dont know exactly where shes at (in her recovery), but she doesnt sit still easily," Cook said. If Vonn is only 50 per cent fit by the time Sochi rolls around, and someone else is completely healthy, just who gets to race? "Were still going to bring the potential medallists down to Sochi," Hoedlmoser said. "We can put more people in training runs and then make a decision before race day." There are plenty of chances between now and Sochi to stand out, beginning this weekend on the new course at Beaver Creek created ahead of the 2015 world championships. "You are in control of your results," said Smith, who was 14th in training on Wednesday, 1.21 seconds behind Cooks top time. "If youre skiing well and have the right mentality, its going to work out just fine." The recent success in speed events has a lot to do with the presence of Vonn and Mancuso. Training alongside those two icons over the years has elevated everyones performance. "To see them get on the podium, week in and week out, was obviously very inspirational for someone like me, who was just scrapping down these courses to try and get World Cup points," said Smith, who had two downhill podium finishes last season. "You learn and you figure out what it takes. You compete with your teammates. All of a sudden, you are in a situation that were in, where everyone is super competitive and you still have those two girls that are leading the pack. "Its just fun, good pressure for everyone else. Its something to aspire to." For years, Cook didnt believe she had the ability to keep up with Vonn in a race. But last season in Lake Louise, the 29-year-old had a breakthrough, finishing runner-up to Vonn in two races. It showed Cook she was on the right path. "Its really become a challenge to myself, to believe that I can compete with her," Cook said. "Ive really accepted that over the last few years instead of hid behind it. "It takes perfection for me to beat her. That is the absolute challenge, to reach perfection going 80 mph (129 kph) on two planks." Mancuso sees a renewed confidence in the speed team, a definite camaraderie, too. "Were all leaning on each other. Thats nice," said Mancuso, a three-time Olympic medallist . "Just all of us together trying to go fast. Everyone is cheering for each other and thats always fun." Bernie Kosar Youth Jersey . In Englands first game since its worst-ever World Cup showing, Roy Hodgsons side rarely looked like scoring against unambitious opposition and the breakthrough in the friendly only came when Raheem Sterling was tripped in the penalty area. Ozzie Newsome Browns Jersey . As a follow-up, TSN.ca offers you the opportunity to chime in on all the big issues with our insiders. Read up on all the questions and answers, and put in your own two cents on our popular Your Call feature. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-Greedy-Williams-Jersey/ . - Houston defensive end J. Jarvis Landry Browns Jersey .J. -- The New Jersey Devils are so bad in shootouts, coach Pete DeBoer doesnt mind seeing his team take chances in the five-minute overtime. Nick Chubb Womens Jersey . DeGrom outpitched Jake Peavy in a tantalizing hitless duel that carried into the seventh inning Saturday night before the New York Mets broke loose and beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2.MONTREAL -- Montreals Pamela Ware kicked-off the new diving season in grand style with a double gold performance at the CAMO Invitational meet. Ware, a world championship bronze medallist this past summer on three-metre, posted victories on 10m tower with 325.90 points on Saturday, and on the three-metre with 345.30 points on Sunday. "My goal today was to test my new dive, a front two and half," said Ware. "It went well. I was able to better manage my nervousness in the final than in preliminaries." Emma Friesen of North Vancouver placed second in the three at 285.60, and Eloise Belanger of Montreal finished third at 276.30. On the 10m, Belanger was second at 305.55 and Celina Toth of London, Ont., was third at 299.40. Maxim Bouchard of St.-Constant, Que..dddddddddddd, took the mens tower final with a personal best 486.45 points. Diego Balleza of Mexico was second at 457.25 and Hugo Parisi of Brazil third at 449.00. Olympian Francois Imbeau-Dulac of St-Lazare, Que., won gold on the three with 440.40 points. Vincent Riendeau of Pointe-Claire, Que., was second at 402.40 and Cesar Castro of Brazil third at 397.50. "This was a big test for me," said Imbeau-Dulac. "I changed my leg for the hurdle and I wanted to see how I would handle that in a competition. Castro and I have always been close in the standings internationally so there was some stress about that too." The competition was also a selection meet to determine the Canadian team for the Spanish and German Grand Prix events in February. ' ' '