Lindsey Vonn Medals At World Cup Finals Just Months After Coming Out Of Retirement: ‘I Proved Everyone Wrong’
Just four months after coming out of retirement, Lindsey Vonn is back on the podium.
Vonn took home the silver medal in the super giant slalom — or super-G — event at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals on Sunday, finishing 1.29 seconds behind first-place winner, Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami. It marked the first time the 40-year-old has medaled since her return to the sport in November.
"When I started this, no one thought that I would even get into the top 30. I haven't been racing World Cups for six years. I have a partial knee replacement. I'm 40 years old," Vonn said after the event.
"Again, I always knew what was possible. But as much as I love skiing, it's been a hard road. I've been knocked down so many times in my life — personally, physically, mentally — and I always pick myself back up. It's not always easy. It is actually really f*cking hard. But that's what it takes. Putting one foot in front of the other and getting through the hard days. And when you keep putting one foot in front of the other, it leads you to a place like today."
Vonn initially retired in 2019. She explained on Instagram at the time that she was struggling with multiple injuries and had "accepted" that she "cannot continue ski racing."
According to a previous interview on 60 Minutes, Vonn's extensive list of injuries included: two ACL tears, an MCL tear, an injury to her meniscus and several broken bones, including her wrist and multiple fingers.
"Despite extensive therapy, training and a knee brace, I am not able [to] make the turns necessary to compete the way I know I can," she said at the time. "My body is broken beyond repair, and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP, and it’s time for me to listen."
Lindsey Vonn Makes Incredible Comeback
Turns out, though, that wasn't the end of the road for the skiing legend. After undergoing a partial knee replacement in April 2024 (plus an arduous rehab and training program), Vonn felt ready to go again.
RELATED: Lindsey Vonn Thinks Her Brand-Spankin' New Titanium Knee Could Start A Hot New Trend
Now, less than a year after surgery, she's back for her 138th World Cup podium finish. With the medal, Vonn broke the record for the oldest woman to finish on the podium at a World Cup event.
Vonn has three Olympic medals, including a downhill gold and super-G bronze from the 2010 Vancouver Games, and a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion and owns eight world championship medals.
With 82 World Cup race victories, Vonn was at one point the most decorated female skier of all time — until Mikaela Shiffrin eclipsed that total in January 2023.
But now, Vonn isn't letting anything stop her. She's set her sights on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
"It’s been a rough season of people saying that I can’t, that I’m too old, that I’m not good enough anymore," Vonn said on Sunday. "I think I proved everyone wrong."
Age ain't nothing but a number, Lindsey.