US skiing legend Lindsey Vonn is making a stunning return to the slopes – five years after retiring amid injury problems.
The three-time Winter Olympic medalist is teasing a possible return to the Games in Italy in 2026, when she will be 41.
She cited LeBron James as an example of what can still be achieved at her age and recalled a conversation with Roger Federer, who told her: ‘I squeezed every drop out of the lemon that I had’. Vonn has claimed: ‘I feel like I have more juice in my lemon now.’
She quit the sport in February 2019, in large part because of issues with her right knee following several crashes and operations.
Vonn hadn’t been able to straighten her leg for nearly a decade and previously claimed to have ‘no intention’ of returning.
But seven months after having knee-replacement surgery, the 40-year-old confirmed she is now pain-free and rejoining the United States ski team.
US skiing legend Lindsey Vonn is making a stunning return – five years after retiring
The three-time Olympic medalist is teasing a possible return to the Games in Italy in 2026
According to the New York Times, she could be back competing on the World Cup circuit as early as next month.
‘(It’s) amazing and definitely not planned… my goal is to enjoy this, and hopefully that road takes me to World Cup races. I wouldn’t be back on the US ski team if I didn’t have intentions,’ she told the Times.
Vonn did not rule out competing at a fifth Winter Olympics in 2026. The alpine races will be held in in Cortina d’Ampezzo where she has previously enjoyed great success.
‘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… but I think everyone knows how much I love Cortina.’
Vonn went under the knife once more after reaching ‘the end of the road’. But she returned to the slopes just 10 weeks later and was able to ski without any pain.
‘Everything felt so different,’ she said. ‘I’m not chasing anything. I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone.’ Vonn added: ‘With what I’ve done in my career… I don’t have any pressure. It’s just me and the mountain like it was in the beginning.’
Vonn was inspired to return by her mother Linda Krohn, who died in 2022 from ALS. ‘I always feel I have a responsibility to myself and to her to live every day to my maximum potential and never have any regrets. I feel now that I would regret it if I didn’t try,’ she said.
The 40-year-old first made the national team 22 years ago and remains the only American woman to win Olympic downhill gold.
