Vonn qualified for the circuit after two lower-level FIS races in Colorado earlier this month. She’s returning to racing after retiring in 2019 and a partial knee replacement surgery in April.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Vonn said the surgery has her feeling good enough to compete.
“The last two years of my career, I was in survival mode,” Vonn said. “I’m stronger. I don’t think about my knee. I think about how I’m going to execute the race.”
Now, the 40-year-old is set to kick out of the start gate in St. Moritz with some of the best skiers in the world. That includes 21-year-old Macuga, who is having a break-out season with a fourth-place finish in the downhill at the Beaver Creek last weekend.
The two super-G races in Switzerland will be Vonn’s first in the discipline since a “did not finish” result in Italy in 2019. Her last major race was also in 2019, when she took third in the downhill during the world championships in Sweden.
The men’s U.S Alpine Team will also compete this weekend in Val Gardena, Italy.
The two-day speed races include a super-G on Saturday followed by Downhill on Sunday. Salt Lake skier Jared Goldberg is slated to compete alongside his American teammates.
