Lindsey Vonn finished sixth in her first World Cup downhill in six years and her second World Cup race overall since retiring this season at age 40.
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist, finished 58 hundredths of a second behind Italy’s Federica Brignone.
Brignone, 34, broke Vonn’s record as the oldest woman to win a downhill World Cup.
Brignone had a lead of seven hundredths of a second over Switzerland’s Malorie Blanc (from starting number 46 in her second career World Cup race). This was followed by the Czech Ester Ledecka (18 hundredths behind), the Italian Laura Pirovano (43 hundredths) and the Austrian Stephanie Venier (51 hundredths).
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As Vonn skied to fifth place, she raised her arms and shook them exuberantly repeatedly. Blanc later knocked her down one spot.
Vonn improved on her 14th-place finish from her first World Cup race on December 21 (a super-G). She is the oldest woman ever to finish in the top thirty of a World Cup.
As in that December 21 race, Vonn had a disadvantageous, late start number of 32 on Saturday. Normally the courses deteriorate after so many skiers. Vonn must collect strong finishes to move up the running order during her comeback.
She will race again on Sunday in a super-G in St. Anton at 5:15 a.m. ET, live on Peacock.
Vonn said a goal is to host a fifth Olympic Games at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. Cortina will host a downhill and super-G World Cup next weekend.
Vonn has achieved the most World Cup victories in Cortina of any alpine skier: 12.
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The 34-year-old Brignone achieved her first downhill World Cup victory after 29 previous victories in super-G, giant slalom and the combined.
Vonn has made a record 43 World Cup descents, the last in March 2018 at the age of 33. Until Saturday, she was the only woman aged 33 or older to win a World Cup downhill.
Brignone retook her own record as the oldest woman to win an Alpine World Cup race in any discipline. Twenty of her thirty titles have come since she turned 29.
Brignone is also the oldest woman to win an Olympic medal in the combined (bronze, 2022) and the GS (silver, 2022) and the oldest female world champion in an individual Alpine event (combined, 2023).
Of her age records, Brignone said, “I hope you can say it again, one more time, maybe in another discipline.”
According to her profile with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Brignone’s last downhill victory at any level came at the 2010 Italian Junior Championships.
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