Lindsey Vonn says Olympic comeback is fueled by love of skiing

NEW YORK – When Lindsey Vonn retired from alpine skiing in 2019, she left the sport as one of the most successful skiers in history. Six years later, she returned with the goal of competing in the fifth Winter Olympics in February in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

But however this comeback ends, Vonn doesn’t worry that it will detract from what she’s already accomplished.

“It’s different because I didn’t have anything to prove,” said Vonn, 41, who stood on a World Cup podium for the first time since 2019 when she finished second in the super-G season finale in Sun Valley, Idaho, last March.

“I don’t think anyone remembers Michael Jordan coming back. I don’t think that’s part of his legacy at all,” she continued. “I’ve already succeeded. I’ve already won. I was on the podium. I have the record for the oldest World Cup medalist by seven years. [she set the previous record in 2019]. I feel like this trip has been amazing.

American Lindsey Vonn poses with the medals she has won throughout her career in the finish area of ​​the 2019 Alpine Skiing World Championships in Are, Sweden.

(Marco Trovati / Associated Press)

Vonn has three Olympic medals, but she only won gold 15 years ago. She has won eight medals at the World Championships, but only one since 2017; his last gold medal dates back to 2009. But this return is not so much about reviving this past as consolidating the present.

“I ended my career and I would really like to close this chapter in a way that maybe was better than 2019,” said Vonn, who was speaking Tuesday at the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in Manhattan. “I feel happy, free. I do it because I love it. I don’t do anything to prove anything to anyone.”

Vonn missed the 2014 Winter Games due to a right knee injury, an injury that led to her retirement in 2019. But after a partial knee replacement last year, she decided she wasn’t done with skiing yet.

“After the replacement, I knew things were really different,” she said. “My body felt so good and I kept pushing myself further and further to see what I could do. Skiing and running seemed like the next logical step.”

American Lindsey Vonn skis during a women’s super-G race at the World Cup final March 23 in Sun Valley, Idaho.

(Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press)

She’s a different skier than she was when she started competing internationally two decades ago, she said.

“I have a lot more perspective now, after being away from the sport for six years,” she said. “It just allows me to compete in a different way and I think it actually gives me an advantage.

“Alpine skiing has a lot to do with accumulated knowledge. And I’ve obviously accumulated a lot of knowledge, because I’ve been racing for a very long time.”

Vonn, whose comeback landed her on the cover of this week’s Time magazine, said she is in the best shape of her career. But she still needs to accumulate enough points on the World Cup circuit this winter to qualify for the Olympics.

She said she probably wouldn’t have considered racing at the highest level again if next February’s Games weren’t scheduled in Cortina, where she has won a record 12 career World Cup races. She also recorded her first of 138 World Cup podiums in Cortina in 2004.

“My goal has always been Cortina. It’s such a special place for me,” she said.

American Lindsey Vonn hurtles down the course at high speed during a downhill race at the Women’s Alpine Skiing World Cup in Kvitfjell, Norway, February 28.

(Gabriele Facciotti / Associated Press)

“I didn’t want to set that as a goal because I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to compete, let alone qualify or finish the season. Once I trained more and got in better shape, I figured it was an achievable goal. I can do it.”

And if she doesn’t succeed, it won’t take away from the fact that she tried. Or what she has already accomplished.

“I’m at peace with where I am in my life,” she said. “I don’t need to ski race, but I really enjoy ski racing and I don’t have anything to prove. So I don’t feel like I have a lot of pressure, even though my dad says it’s the most pressure I’ve ever had in my life.”