Olympic skiing gold medalist Lindsey Vonn credits her mom with instilling in her the "toughness and optimism" she's needed to become a world class athlete.

Appearing on the Today Show, Vonn stressed there lies a fine and thin line between glory and disaster and it was always her mom who most helped her overcome all the highs and lows.

Tiger Woods 29-year-old girlfriend and her mom, Lindy Lund, are part of a NBC feature entitled "How To Raise an Olympian," that airs Wednesday evening on NBC.

"I've been injured the last two years now and having people around you who love you and care about you no matter what, whether you win or lose, that's what kind of keeps you going," said Vonn. "My mom had a stroke when she gave birth to me so she's been through a pretty rough time... moms don't ever get that recognition they deserve, especially my mom. I feel like she's just been through a lot."

Still recuperating from recent knee surgery, Vonn recently announced she would not be competing in this month's Sochi Olympics and instead will be serving as an Olympic correspondent for TODAY and NBC Sports.