The spectacular ski racing career of Lindsey Vonn (USA/Head) came to an end — or so it seemed — in the Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo on 20 January 2019, when she recorded a DNF in a Super G race and retired a few weeks later, physically unable to continue skiing at an elite level after multiple knee surgeries.
Nearly six years on, as the third most successful Alpine skier of either gender in World Cup history prepares to make a comeback at age 40, the famous Olimpia delle Tofane piste in Cortina is once again on Vonn's mind.
The Queen of the Dolomites will host the women's Alpine skiing events at Milano Cortina 2026 in less than 15 months, and a fifth Olympic Games is Vonn's eventual aim as she begins her World Cup comeback this weekend.
"Ultimately, if I can make it to Cortina, that would be my goal," the three-time Olympic medalist said.
At her peak, Vonn was arguably the greatest speed racer in the history of Alpine skiing, and she still holds the record in either gender for World Cup wins in both Downhill (43) and Super G (28).
She won so many World Cup races in Lake Louise, Canada — 18 in all, including winning the speed treble on three consecutive days, three different times — that it became known simply as Lake Lindsey.
But injuries began to take their toll towards the back end of her career, and in those years, she seemed to spend more time off the piste than on it.
"I was in survival mode the last years of my career," Vonn admitted. "Almost every prep period I got some sort of injury, some sort of setback.
"Now I'm stronger, I don't think about my knee. I think about how I'm going to execute the race. And that's a totally different mindset than I was in before.
"I'm in a position where I'm not I'm not sitting on the ski, I'm working the ski, and that generates power, and that's a lot faster than what I was doing in the last few years of my career."
The last of Vonn's 82 World Cup victories, the women's record at the time of her retirement, which has since been overtaken by Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic, 99), came nearly seven years ago, in March 2018.
And while some may doubt that Vonn can return to her old form in her 40s, she believes her body feels much younger.
"I'm having so much fun," Vonn said. "My partial knee replacement went so well and I have no pain and no swelling. And I just started on this adventure and I thought, 'Let's give it a try.'"
"I can't tell you how big a difference it makes to be able to ski without pain. It's a completely new world for me, I haven't felt this good for 15 years.
"I'm excited to be back."
Vonn will return to the World Cup tour for the first time since 2019 on Saturday in St. Moritz, the first of two Super G races this weekend in the Swiss resort.
She has been gearing up for this for the last few weeks, participating in lower-level FIS races in Copper Mountain in early December before serving as a forerunner for the two speed World Cup races in Beaver Creek last weekend.
In those forerunner duties, she estimated that she skied at 80 percent intensity on Saturday and increased that to 90 percent on Sunday as she ramps up for her imminent return to the World Cup.
"I'm in that mindset, I'm in the zone," Vonn said on Sunday before flying to Switzerland immediately to prepare for this weekend's races.
St. Moritz has been a happy hunting ground for the Head skier in the past, as she has won five World Cup races and recorded 10 podiums there, as well as claiming a world championships bronze medal in Downhill in 2017.
But her last victory in St. Moritz, in January 2015, must seem like a lifetime ago. Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic), Vonn's friend and heir as the world's best women's speed skier, was still two years away from her first World Cup win then; she now has 25, including last Sunday's Super G triumph in Beaver Creek.
And while it's reasonable to expect Vonn to feel nervous all these years later as she pushes out of the start gate on Saturday — after all, even basketball legend Michael Jordan admitted to rare nerves upon his first NBA comeback in 1995 — she says that the feeling is more one of anticipation.
"I have the butterflies of excitement, and that's fun — I love that feeling," Vonn said. "I like being in the start and I love the countdown."
And that countdown, which will see the return of one of the greatest racers in Alpine skiing history this Saturday, is now on.
Welcome back, Lindsey Vonn.
World Cup
82 victories, third most all-time behind Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic, 99) and Ingemar Stenmark (SWE, 86)
43 Downhill and 28 Super G victories, both records for either gender
395 World Cup races, the first of which was a Slalom race in Park City, Utah, as a 16-year-old on 18 November 2000
Olympic Winter Games
Gold medalist in Downhill at Vancouver 2010
Bronze medalist in Super G at Vancouver 2010 and in Downhill at PyeongChang 2018
14 races at four Games (Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 and PyeongChang 2018)
World Championships
Double speed gold medalist at Val d'Isère in 2009, winning the Downhill and Super G races
Six other medals (three silver and three bronze), the first in 2007 and the last in 2019
25 world championships races in eight editions
