US skier Lindsey Vonn made an epic return to the sport after retiring in 2019. Vonn announced that she would be coming back to compete after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement last year, and now she’s ready to prove to herself, and her doubters, that anything is possible.
American skier Lindsey Vonn has made an incredible return to the sport, returning to the World Cup podium for the first time since 2018. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Vonn praised her performance and said she proved to herself, and her skeptics, that she deserves to be back on the World Cup circuit.
Vonn came in second in the super-G at the World Cup finals in March, becoming the oldest female Alpine skier to make the podium of a World Cup race at 40-years-old.
The last time Vonn was on a World Cup podium was March 2018 where she placed third in the super-G which took place in Åre, Sweden. One year later, February 2019, Vonn announced that she was retiring from the sport, however, after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement in 2024, she announced she would be returning to the slopes.
Vonn recently spoke at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid about her emotional return to skiing and how excited she was to no longer be retired.
“Never in a million years would I have ever expected to be back here. I mean, when I saw you last, it was emotional because I was ending my career and that was it.”
“That was the end, and I definitely wish that it hadn’t been the end because I love skiing and it’s always been my passion since I was a kid, but my body was no longer cooperating,” she said.
“Thankfully with this partial knee replacement, now I’m lucky enough to have the chance again – and, hopefully, another Olympics next year.”
Vonn is elated to be back competing in the sport she loves, despite the internal and external doubts she was being confronted by. She told CNN that along with the emotional hurdles she had to overcome to return, she also had some physical doubts as well.
Vonn talked about how she weighed 20 pounds less than her previous competing weight and wasn’t “nearly as strong as [she] was before,” dealing with new equipment, coaches, and trainers.
She discussed that the challenges she faced felt “insurmountable, and it’s hard to quantify” how integral it was for her to get back on the podium.
“I think there are a lot of people that thought that I would never be back and I would never be successful again – and I think that I proved to myself, and to them, that I still deserve to be here, no matter if I will be 41 at the next Olympics.”
“I cried. I think that (podium) was the hardest I’ve ever cried after a race because it just was so emotional and it meant so much to me – and, actually, I’m going to put it next to my Olympic medal because that’s how much it means to me,” she stated.
“I’ve never had so many different variables in one season, and I felt like every weekend it was something new, some new challenge was just being thrown at me.
And sometimes, I felt like I was beat down and it was hard to find the motivation because I was doing this because I love ski racing, but at times this season, it felt like it was insurmountable.”
Vonn said after making her return, it felt like no time had passed, and she credits her extensive experience and knowledge to being able to “Level the playing field against competitors half my age.”
Vonn also discussed how disheartening it was to hear so many negative comments from her peers regarding her return to the sport.
“That really hurt me and, by the end, I knew that I could do it for myself, but I also wanted to prove it for every 40 year old woman you know that we are not defined by our age,” Vonn said.
“We’re defined by our ability and our work ethic, and I worked as hard as I could to be back to where I got to, and that’s why I felt like I needed to do it to prove to women that we could.”
“I love the sport. Like nothing will change it no matter what I do. From the time I was seven years old and I started racing, it’s always been the thing that I just feel the most alive doing.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
