Lindsey Vonn gets emotional about leaving her grandfather's ashes in South Korea

Lindsey Vonn came to South Korea with the goal of taking home an Olympic medal and leaving behind something even more special.

She did both.

The American ski great said Thursday she recently scattered some of the ashes of her grandfather, who served during the Korean War, on a rock near the mountain where the downhill races were run.

"I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always," said Vonn, who shared her story with The Associated Press and the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

Vonn said she sprayed parts of Don Kildow's ashes "just a few days ago" on a rock that she was told was special when she visited South Korea last year to be named a Pyeongchang Olympic ambassador. She described the location as "right by the men's downhill start."

Vonn burst into tears when she was asked about her grandfather during a news conference in Pyeongchang this month before the Olympics. He lived in Milton, Wisconsin, and died in November.

"I miss him so much," she said. "He's been such a big part of my life. And I really had hoped that he would be alive to see me (at this year's Olympics). But I know he's watching, and I know that he's going to help me and I'm going to win for him."

Source: foxnews