Lindsey Vonn exclusive on Mikaela Shiffrin, Sofia Goggia and striving to have a ‘positive impact’

Entrepreneur, mentor, influencer, superstar: there are numerous ways to describe alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn nowadays.

It’s been over four years since her retirement from competitive sports, yet the two-time Olympic medallist continues to be a source of inspiration: “Lindsey Vonn is just a woman from Minnesota who is trying to challenge herself every day to have as much positive impact on the world as possible,” the 39-year-old told Olympics.com in a recent interview in Lausanne during the 2023 International Athletes’ Forum.

Since the latter years of her career, the former ski superstar has been motivated to make an impact on the lives of other people. She set up a Foundation to empower young underprivileged girls and directed her efforts towards investing more in women’s sports: after becoming co-owner of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team Angels City FC a year ago, Vonn recently partnered with Kevin Durant and other prominent figures in the launch of the LOVB, USA’s inaugural professional volleyball league.

“Since ski racing, I've really tried to find areas in which I could support women that are underrepresented,” she said, adding how she cares about giving women a platform to be able to succeed in their own sports.

“Skiing is not necessarily the most popular sport, but we did have opportunities because the Olympics were such a big deal for us. And we had endorsement opportunities. But a lot of these women don't. So I feel lucky that I'm able to, again, invest in them. It's not a monetary endeavour for me. It's more of my belief in them and what they can achieve.”

Lindsey Vonn: A future in management?

Vonn is well aware of the profound influence popular athletes can have on others' lives: “When I met Picabo Street when I was nine years old, she just took 90 seconds out of her day to make me smile as a kid. And that made such a big difference. So I really try to have that same impact on the people that I encounter as well.”

After spending many seasons successfully competing at the highest level, the Vancouver 2010 gold medallist is eager to share her knowledge and embrace new adventures: “I try to always be an open door for anyone that wants my advice or help. And a lot of times that's in tennis for some reason. But I've always been open. I don't know if anyone would ever ask me to be in management of a team, but I could see that as a possibility down the road.”

Coaching however isn't on her agenda: “I hate the cold. So to be standing on the mountain and not competing would be very difficult for me,” she added.

This might disappoint her friend and fellow Olympic champion Sofia Goggia, who has expressed a willingness to welcome Vonn to her staff: “I love Sofia, I mentor her all the time. I mean, we talk a lot and before the Olympics in Beijing, we talked a lot. You know, with her knee injury, it was a real challenge, but she was able to overcome that and get a medal. And I was so proud of her.”

Cortina: 'Such a beautiful place to have the Olympics'

Goggia and Vonn both have shared a history of injuries, but the American – who won her last Olympic medal at PyeongChang 2018 at the age of 33 - firmly believes that the current ‘Speed Queen’ will maintain her competitiveness at the same age in three years, come the home Winter Olympics Milano-Cortina 2026.

“Sofia is a force of nature, she's just one of the most tenacious and hard-working, driven people that I know. And I think the reason why we get along so well is because we're so truly passionate about the sport. You know, she skis with her heart on her sleeve, as did I. And so I know she will give 110% as much as she possibly has to be successful in Cortina.”

The Italian resort holds a special place in her heart as she has achieved an unprecedented 12 victories on the Olympia delle Tofane track, a feat unmatched by anyone else:

“Cortina is special, so special to me specifically,” Vonn said.

“I mean, it was my first podium and, you know, so many great memories. It's just such a beautiful place to have the Olympics. And obviously they had the Olympics many years ago. But I think for the growth of sport in Italy, it's an amazing opportunity. And to really showcase that part of the world is going to be great. I was in the Torino Olympics and, you know, obviously it's not that far away, but the Dolomites are quite spectacular. And I'm excited for the world to see that.”

Vonn on Shiffrin and women’s coaching

In the last few years, the American has passed on the torch of stardom in the sport to Mikaela Shiffrin, who first broke Vonn's record for most World Cup wins by a woman and then she went on to surpass the overall mark set by the legendary Ingemar Stenmark fifty years ago.

Shiffrin acknowledged the trailblazing 'path' that Vonn forged for women in skiing, breaking barriers and setting new milestones.

“I respect her so much and it means a lot to me that she would say something like that, " said Vonn. "I mean, I never set out to kind of do a lot of the things that I ended up doing. But I found opportunity to create change in my career. And I hope they did. And I I'm thankful that, you know, she recognised that and hopefully that she continues to help as well.”

Shiffrin is being coached by a woman this season, the Norwegian Karen Harjo, a familiar figure to Vonn due to their past collaboration: “She's has a great ski racing IQ, so it'll be exciting to see what she can do. You just don't see women coaches, it just doesn't really happen,” Vonn reflected.

“Skiing is a challenging sport to be a coach, especially for a woman. It's a very physical job. You're on the road most of the year, which is difficult if you're a mother and have kids or want kids. And it's just a very taxing job. So to have a team made up of females is amazing. And hopefully that shows that that's a possibility. And hopefully there's more women that want that role.”