Lindsey Vonn placed 14th in her first Alpine skiing World Cup since ending a nearly six-year retirement, taking less risk in her comeback race and calling it “a perfect start.”
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist and four-time World Cup overall champion, finished 1.18 seconds behind Austrian winner Cornelia Hütter in a super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Vonn, who had a disadvantageous start number of 31 (the course normally deteriorates after the early, high-ranked skiers), then smiled and repeatedly waved to a cheering crowd.
“It feels so good to have the nerves and to have the butterflies and to have the adrenaline and to push yourself,” Vonn told Eurosport. “I always feel like it’s just me against the mountain, and I love that feeling. Ski racing, there’s no limit to what you can push yourself to. So I think this is a perfect start, and I’ll look forward to trying to improve every race.”
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@lindseyvonn is back like she never left 😤👀#stifelusskiteam pic.twitter.com/N0JzvsI2uL
At 40, she became the second-oldest woman on record to start a World Cup race and the oldest woman on record to earn World Cup points by finishing in the top 30 of a race.
Vonn had the second-slowest opening split time at the start of the course of the 57-skier field. She had the fourth- and fifth-fastest times of two later intervals.
“There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give,” she said. “I really wanted to get to the finish today and be solid. I didn’t want to risk too much. Today was not the day to try to do anything special.
“I think the course was a little bit bumpy when I went, and so some sections I was a little bit more conservative with my line. But in some sections, I was really fast. … So I’m really close to being there. I’m just not quite there yet.”
Vonn was the second-fastest U.S. woman on Saturday behind Lauren Macuga, who tied for seventh overall.
That despite feeling “a little bit stressed” before her first top-level race since the February 2019 World Championships.
“I was a little bit behind. I forgot a couple of things,” said Vonn, who contested lower-level races earlier this month to become eligible to return to the World Cup. “I was a little bit hectic because I just haven’t done it in a while. You get into a routine, and everything runs so smoothly, and I’m just getting back in the routine.”
Last week, Vonn said she is using this season as preparation for next season and her ultimate goal of making her fifth Olympic team in 2026.
“So when I don’t win right off the bat, I hope people understand that it’s not because I can’t. It’s because I’m working my way back in,” she said last week. “I don’t need to take any risks right now. I need to stay on my feet, get some solid results, get my confidence and be ready for next year.”
A nation can qualify to enter up to four Alpine skiers per individual race at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
The U.S. Olympic roster is typically finalized in the weeks leading up to the Opening Ceremony and largely based off international results in the year leading up to the Olympics.
Vonn retired in 2019 due to the physical toll of accumulated injuries. She returned to training this summer after feeling pain-free following partial right knee replacement surgery in April.
“I literally don’t think about my knee at all, which is crazy because that’s all I thought about for the last 11 years,” Vonn said last week.
Another super-G in St. Moritz scheduled for Sunday was canceled due to poor weather conditions. Vonn’s next races are expected to be Jan. 11-12, a downhill and super-G in St. Anton, Austria, live on Peacock.
“Tomorrow will be better, because now I’m used to it,” Vonn said Saturday. “I think the first one is the hardest because you just have to jump in. You have to dive in.”
1. Cornelia Hütter (AUT) — 1:15.18
2. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) — +.18
3. Sofia Goggia (ITA) — +.33
4. Elena Curtoni (ITA) — +.42
5. Federica Brignone (ITA) — +.43
6. Laura Pirovano (ITA) — +.70
7. Lauren Macuga (USA) — +.75
7. Ester Ledecka (CZE) — +.75
9. Mirjam Puchner (AUT) — +.76
10. Corinne Suter (SUI) — +.80
14. Lindsey Vonn (USA) — +1.18
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