Lindsey Vonn Returns to Competitive Skiing After Retirement: ‘I’m Back!’
Lindsey Vonn is making her comeback to the slopes after announcing her return to competitive skiing in November, following her initial retirement at the end of the 2018-2019 season. The 40-year-old Olympian recently celebrated her return with her first competition in nearly six years.
“I’m officially BACK!!” Vonn shared in a Dec. 22 Instagram post, commemorating her participation in a World Cup race after 2,162 days away. She competed in the Super G event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 21, finishing 14th. Vonn described her performance as “a perfect place to start” and emphasized, “This is only the beginning.”
Accompanying her Instagram post were photos and videos from the event, along with her plans to train throughout the winter and come back stronger in the new year. Vonn’s next stop will be St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, where the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Women will take place on Jan. 11 and 12, 2025.
Vonn’s return follows her announcement of a successful right knee replacement surgery, which enabled her comeback to the sport. She is set to rejoin Team USA ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, but her immediate focus remains on the current World Cup season.
In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn called her return “amazing and definitely not planned” and expressed the excitement she felt skiing again after surgery. “I had a smile so wide it was coming through the back of my helmet,” she said. While cautious about setting expectations, Vonn admitted, “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t hope to be racing. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know.”
Vonn boasts an extraordinary career, including four World Cup overall titles, eight season titles, and Olympic medals—a gold and bronze in 2010 and another bronze in 2018. She made history as the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the downhill event during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
Reflecting on her career upon retiring in 2018, Vonn told PEOPLE, “I’ve surpassed the women’s World Cup record and achieved things in skiing that no one else has done. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”
