Record-setting skier Lindsey Vonn says she will make a comeback at age 40. She is seen here in 2017, speaking to the media ahead of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
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Lindsey Vonn got a new knee earlier this year – and now she’s looking to test herself at the highest level, revealing she’s training for a return to competitive alpine skiing. Vonn, 40, said she finally felt healthy, five years after retiring.
“Well, it’s off for Colorado…. I hope the (US Ski Team) uniform still fits,” Vonn said Friday via Instagram.
News of Vonn’s comeback bid comes 20 years after she won her first World Cup race. The women’s season for the 2024-25 Alpine World Cup started on October 26 and will end in March 2025.
“Getting back to skiing pain-free has been an incredible journey,” Vonn said in a release from US Ski & Snowboard. “I look forward to returning with the US Stifel Ski Team and continuing to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women.”
Vonn is one of the most decorated skiers of all time, and she still holds several records, including the most World Cup victories by a woman or a man in downhill and super-G. The 82 World Cup he won only America Mikaela Shiffrin and Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark. She and Shiffrin are in an elite club of female skiers who have won World Cup events in all five disciplines: downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and combined.
“His dedication and passion for alpine skiing is inspiring and we’re excited to have him back on the snow and see where he can go from here,” said US Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt.
Vonn’s ability to excel in speed disciplines has taken a toll on her body, with knee injuries – and at least nine surgeries – disrupting her career on the competitive circuit, even as she continues to rack up wins between setbacks.
“I have severe tri-compartment degeneration but the main compartment that hurts is the lateral compartment, or the outside of the knee,” Vonn said in April. He describes a type of knee replacement surgery in which the bone is removed and replaced with pieces of titanium.
“With this new knee that is now a part of me… I feel like a new chapter in my life has opened before my eyes,” she said last month on Instagram.
If Vonn is able to return, it will be the latest sign that her abilities are not subject to the same obstacles as other athletes. Back in 2012, his thirst for speed and competition led him to argue to be allowed to race against people, a request that the International Ski Federation rejected.
Weeks later, he skied up to 136 kilometers per hour (84.5 mph) in a downhill training run at Lake Louise in Canada – a speed reportedly unmatched by a male skier in the event.
Vonn recently hinted at a potential return to racing. And in recent months, his presence on the slopes in New Zealand and Austria has caused a stir, prompting speculation that he could try to resume competitive skiing in December, when the World Cup races are due to be held in Colorado.
Sofia Goggia, Vonn’s friend and fellow speed specialist, welcomed the rumor, saying that) it was a sign that Vonn felt healthy; and b) it will be fun for him to return.
“It’s great to race in the World Cup with my idol,” Goggia told Olympics.com last month.
Even before her knee surgery, Vonn set out last year to accomplish a very ambitious goal: taking on the grueling Streif descent in Kitzbühel, Austria. Early in the course, racers face 85% incline known as Mousefall (Mouse Mouse). In the steepest jumps, the height can be as high as 260 feet.
“When you look out of the starting gate and it’s dark and you can’t see Mausefalle, it looks like you’re jumping off the edge of the world and it’s very intimidating,” Vonn said afterwards.
He overcame a road of about 2 miles, and increased in elevation, during the night. On a pair of borrowed skis and the knee she was about to replace, Vonn’s speed reportedly topped 62 mph.
