Five years after retiring from competitive skiing, former Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn is returning to the sport.
The four-time World Cup champion said in an interview with the New York Times that knee replacement surgery seven months ago has stunningly allowed her to return to the slopes pain-free, and that she will be rejoining the U.S. Ski Team on Friday, with a focus on the super-G and downhill.
‘Obviously, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t hope to be racing. I have aspirations. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know,’ she said.
‘But I’m not going to put myself in a position to fail. My goal is to enjoy this, and hopefully that road takes me to World Cup races. I wouldn’t be back on the U.S. Ski Team if I didn’t have intentions.’
At age 40, Vonn calls her desire to return to competitive skiing ‘amazing and definitely not planned,’ but acknowledged that participating the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy could be in her future if all goes well.
‘I’ve always enjoyed racing in Cortina and I’ve had a lot of success in Cortina,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what the next few months and the next year and a half hold for me. So I can’t say right now if it’s a possibility.’
Lindsey Vonn’s career accomplishments
Vonn won four World Cup championships (2008-10, 2012) and set a record with 82 World Cup victories in all five alpine disciplines. (Her record has since been broken by fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin.) Her 43 World Cup wins in the downhill and 28 in super-G are the most by any skier in history, man or woman.
Vonn has competed in four different Olympics, winning three Olympic medals: a gold in the women’s downhill and a bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Games in Vancouver and a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.
Lindsey Vonn’s career beset by injuries
Lindsey Vonn retired from skiing in 2019 after the FIS Alpine World Championships in Sweden, due to constant pain in her right knee due to multiple surgeries and high-speed crashes.
‘The unfortunate reality is my mind and body are not on the same page,’ she said in her February 2019 retirement announcement. ‘After many sleepless nights, I have finally accepted that I cannot continue ski racing.’
Her list of injuries is a lengthy one.
Torn ACL and MCL, broken right leg at 2013 World Championships
Reinjured ACL, forcing her to miss 2014 Winter Olympics
Fractured ankle in 2015
Fractured knee in 2016
Fractured arm in 2016
Fractured knee, torn ligaments in 2018
Knee replacement surgery in 2024