The American skier Lindsey Vonn, winner of three Winter Olympic medals and 82 World Cup races, announced this Thursday in an interview with the American newspaper The New York Times who returns to the competition. Five years ago, Vonn retired professionally from skiing because her right knee, battered by several accidents and subsequent interventions, could no longer hold up and, after winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Are, Sweden, she announced her retirement. “The reason I have decided to retire is because I can no longer ski the way I want. My body asks me to stop and it is time for me to listen to it,” he indicated in his farewell letter in 2019.
It’s now been just over nine months since he underwent right knee replacement surgery and he’s back on skis. Vonn has admitted that, to her surprise, she did not feel pain when doing so and that has led her to make the decision to compete again, although she has assured that she has no pressure and will take it calmly. “My goal is to enjoy this and I hope that path leads me to World Cup races. I wouldn’t go back to US skiing if I didn’t have intentions, but there’s no pressure on me […]nor am I trying to prove anything to anyone,” he said in the interview.
On the horizon is the next Winter Olympic Games to be held in 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. There, the American won 12 World Cup races between 2008 and 2018. Vonn remembers it and intends to set it as a goal in the coming months, although she does not confirm it. “I have always liked competing in Cortina and I have had a lot of success there. “I don’t know what the next few months and the next year and a half will bring, so I can’t say right now if it’s a possibility,” he said.
His return, at 40 years old
The skier turned 40 last October. After announcing her return, Vonn joins the list of athletes who extended their sports careers until they were over 40 years old. Several examples are the golfer Tiger Woods, who won the Masters Tournament at the age of 43 in 2019 – precisely five years after his last victory; Serena Williams, who announced her retirement from tennis shortly before her 41st birthday; Tom Brady, former American football player who won a Superbowl at age 43 and retired at age 46; and Roger Federer, who gave up the racket at 41.
Age does not concern Vonn, who gave the example of basketball player LeBron James, who is still active and will turn 40 next December. “He’s still out there, killing it,” said the skier.
🏆SKI HISTORY!🏆
🐐 Mikaela Shiffrin becomes the skier with the most victories in the World Cup, surpassing Stenmark
8⃣7⃣ and those that remain pic.twitter.com/HCCogTZBuO
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) March 11, 2023
When Vonn decided to leave the competition in 2019 due to physical problems, her record came to a standstill, just four wins away from equaling the myth Ingemar Stenmark, who had 86 wins in the World Cup. Four years later, in 2023, another American appeared, Mikaela Shiffrin, who made history by breaking the Swede’s record and adding 87 wins after winning the slalom event at the Are station that year.
Now, with Vonn back, both will compete on the US team starting this Friday, something that Vonn is excited about. “I think it’s incredible what he has done for this sport. “I’m so excited to get back on the team with her and the rest of the girls.”
