PARK CITY, Utah — Minnesota native Lindsey Vonn is coming out of retirement to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team, she announced Thursday, with the intention of racing again at age 40 — and six years after her last Olympics.
Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, including downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and downhill bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion and owns eight World Cup titles -medals.
Her 82 World Cup victories set the record for a woman until that total was eclipsed in January 2023 by American Mikaela Shiffrin, who is still active and has now amassed 97 victories – more than any alpine ski racer in the history of the sport also. .
Before eclipsing Vonn’s total, Shiffrin said, “I don’t know if I could fill Lindsey’s shoes the way she’s worn them.”
Vonn’s last match took place in February 2019 after she dealt with it a long series of injuries throughout her career.
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There were broken arms and legs, torn knee ligaments, concussions and more.
In April, years after leaving the World Cup circuit, she had surgery for a partial knee replacement.
Vonn has been training for the past few months, US Ski & Snowboard said Thursday.
“It has been an incredible journey to get back to skiing without pain,” Vonn said, adding that she wants to “continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women” on the U.S. team.
Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of US Ski & Snowboard, said Vonn’s “dedication and passion for downhill skiing is inspiring, and we’re excited to have her back on the snow and see where she can go from here.”
Vonn is back with the team effective immediately, but it is not yet known which specific races she will participate in.
Vonn was born in St. Paul, but grew up in Burnsville and got her start skiing at Buck Hill. In 2019 she was honored with a new tow rope on the ski hill called “Kildow’s Climb.” Kildow is her maiden name.
The next Winter Olympics will be in Italy in February 2026.
