Lindsey Vonn, 40, finishes 14th in first World Cup race since 2019
Vonn plans to race in another super-G on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn finished 14th in a super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Saturday, her first World Cup race since retiring after the 2019 World Championships.
The 40-year-old Vonn, who started under a new rule for former champions, ended up 1.18 seconds behind race winner Cornelia Huetter of Austria.
@lindseyvonn is back like she never left 😤👀#stifelusskiteam pic.twitter.com/N0JzvsI2uL
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) December 21, 2024
The three-time Olympic medalist and four-time World Champion said that she took a conservative approach in certain parts of the course, but was pleased with her run. Vonn is set to take part in another super-G in St. Moritz on Sunday.
"This was the perfect start," Vonn said. "Today is just the first step, and I'm not looking for more. Today I really needed to get to the finish. I wanted to have a solid result. And that's exactly what I did."
Vonn announced in November that she would return to competitive skiing following successful knee replacement surgery. One month after the surgery, Vonn told The New York Times she was able to straighten her right leg, which she hadn't been able to do in a decade. Weeks later she was doing leg strengthening drills she hadn't been able to do in eight years.
“The last few years of my career were so much different than they are right now,” Vonn said. “I’m skiing without thinking about my knee, which I really haven’t done since I first tore my ACL in 2013. So it’s been a long time that I felt this good and I’m a little bit older, but honestly, I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I once was.”
At the time of her 2019 retirement, Vonn had 82 World Cup victories, the most for a woman at the time. Fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin broke Vonn's record in 2023 and now has 99 wins.
Vonn said last week that this is all preparation for her for next season and ultimately, being part of the 2026 U.S. Olympic team for the Milan Cortina Games.
“So when I don’t win right off the bat, I hope people understand that it’s not because I can’t. It’s because I’m working my way back in,” Vonn said. “I don’t need to take any risks right now. I need to stay on my feet, get some solid results, get my confidence and be ready for next year.”
