Lindsey Vonn set for racing comeback as she rejoins US Ski Team in 2024-25 alpine season: 'My goal is to enjoy this'
Inspired by LeBron James and Roger Federer, the 40-year-old is returning to the US team almost six years after her retirement: “My goal is to enjoy this, and hopefully that road takes me to World Cup races,” the Olympic champion said. Vonn does not even rule going for the Milano Cortina Olympics.
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn is set to write a new chapter in her already storied career.
The Vancouver 2010 downhill gold medallist, who turned 40 in October, plans to make her official return to ski racing this season as she rejoins the U.S. Team, according to a press release from U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
“Getting back to skiing without pain has been an incredible journey,” Vonn said, after weeks of rumours about her comeback. “I am looking forward to being back with the Stifel U.S. Ski Team and to continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women.”
The three-time Olympic medallist has successfully recovered from partial knee replacement surgery earlier this year and got back to training over the past couple of months.
"My goal is to enjoy this, and hopefully that road takes me to World Cup races. I wouldn’t be back on the U.S. ski team if I didn’t have intentions,” Vonn told the New York Times.
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t hope to be racing. I have aspirations. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know.”
Vonn joins a strong U.S. women’s team led by World Cup record-holder Mikaela Shiffrin. Team USA placed four female athletes in the top 11 at the season opener in Soelden, Austria.
The four-time overall champion Vonn will need to earn FIS points or receive a wild card entry to rejoin World Cup competitions, similar to the exemption granted to Marcel Hirscher at the season’s start for former Olympic and world champions.
The season's first speed events will take place on U.S. soil, with women racing the renowned 'Birds of Prey' course in Beaver Creek, Colorado, for the first time in World Cup history on 14-15 December. Vonn is expected to start as a forerunner there, and she could enter World Cup races as early as 21-22 December in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Even the next Olympics Milano Cortina 2026 are in the back of her mind. “I’ve always enjoyed racing in Cortina and I’ve had a lot of success in Cortina,” she revealed to the NY Times. "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.”
Lindsey Vonn: Inspired by her late mother... and Roger Federer
Vonn explained that she had “no intention of coming back” when she announced her retirement five years ago.
After seeing how her body responded to more intense training just weeks after knee surgery, she changed her mind: “Everything felt so different. I could really start pushing my knee, and all that went really well.”
Beyond the desire to be competitive again, her decision to return is also rooted in something much deeper.
Her late mother Linda Krohn had taught the skier a lesson on resilience. Krohn passed away two years ago from ALS after suffering leg paralysis due to a stroke while giving birth to Lindsey. “I’ve always had a different perspective because of her,” Vonn told the NY Times. “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.”
At 40, Vonn is the oldest skier in the high-octane World Cup circuit, where the majority of her rivals is significantly younger—but that only seems to fuel her spark.
She also mentioned NBA superstar LeBron James, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on 30 December, as a source of inspiration: "He’s still out there crushing it.”
Vonn recalled a conversation with her long-time friend and tennis legend, Roger Federer, who retired at 41 after feeling he had "squeezed every drop out of the lemon" that he had. Unlike the Swiss champion, the skier believes she's still got something left in her tank: "I pushed myself as hard as I could. But I feel like I have more juice in my lemon now,” she said.
Lindsey Vonn: Feeling 'stronger than ever'
Vonn made her World Cup debut in 2001 and recorded her first World Cup victory three years later. She went on to win a total of 82 races — a record that stood intact until Shiffrin surpassed it in 2023 — and clinched the overall World Cup title four times to go along with her 20 discipline globes. Her trophy cabinet also includes three Olympic medals and eight World Championship medals.
The St. Paul, Minnesota native endured numerous injuries throughout her career and, despite her perseverance and multiple comebacks, ultimately retired in February 2019 after 18 seasons on the World Cup tour.
“Lindsey has made an indelible mark on alpine skiing and our organization throughout her career. We’re delighted to welcome her back,” said President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sophie Goldschmidt. “Her dedication and passion towards alpine skiing is inspiring and we’re excited to have her back on snow and see where she can go from here.”
“Lindsey is someone who has really been there for me throughout my time on the World Cup circuit,” said Team USA skier Bella Wright. “I never got the opportunity to be Lindsey’s teammate in the past, so the opportunity to ski alongside her is extremely exciting! I can’t wait to see what the U.S. women can do this season.”
Since the latter years of her career, Vonn has channelled her energy into making an impact on the lives of other people.
She set up a Foundation to empower young underprivileged girls and focused on investing more in women’s sports. After her retirement, the ski icon got involved in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and recently became co-owner of the Utah Royals team. She also partnered with four-time Olympic basketball champion Kevin Durant and other prominent figures in the launch of the LOVB, USA’s inaugural professional volleyball league.
Ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, the 'Speed Queen' made her directorial debut by collaborating with Hollywood producer Frank Marshall on the Olympic Channel feature-length documentary Picabo, which pays homage to her childhood idol, Picabo Street.
In recent years, Vonn shared her intense workout regime on social media and, in 2023, fulfilled a lifetime dream by skiing down the iconic Kitzbuhel slope at night.
Following knee surgery in April, the Olympic champion says she "feels stronger than ever" and hopes she can continue inspiring "the next generation of women in sports". Now she can do that as a competitor, again.