Lindsey Vonn Confirmed to Race in St Moritz
6th December 2024
Last modified on December 16th, 2024
The 40-year-old American legend is back on the World Cup circuit. She has a wildcard entry after racing a Downhill and a Super G in Colorado and skiing as a forerunner in Beaver Creek. UPDATED
Two super-Gs are on the program in St. Moritz on 21st and 22nd December.
Her return has been confirmed by her sponsor, Red Bull.
“She’s back,” wrote Red Bull on Instagram, posting a video in which the 40-year-old former Olympic and world champion smiled: “I hear St Moritz is nice this time of year.”
The International Ski & Snowboard Federation, FIS, has a new invitation system that allows former racers to return to the elite circuit after being away from competition.
She has already completed training runs in the downhill and Super G, and has also picked up the necessary FIS points in Copper Mountain, USA.
The 2020 Olympic Champion in downhill was competing at a lower-tier event, the FIS Fall Festival at Copper Mountain, in the hope that she can secure a good enough ranking to earn a World Cup wildcard.
The 40-year-old Vonn finished 24th and 27th, respectively, out of the 40 skiers who finished the FIS Fall Festival downhill runs on Saturday.
It was followed by finishes of 24th (out of 31) and 19th (out of 28) in the Super-G on Sunday.
Vonn wasn’t especially fast and finished in the middle of the pack in the downhill.
“Today was a solid start and I had a blast being in start with my teammates again!” Vonn wrote on X after the downhill.
“While I’m sure people will speculate and say I’m not in top form because of the results, I disagree.
“This was training for me. I’m still testing equipment and getting back in the groove.”
Today was a solid start and I had a blast being in start with my teammates again! While I’m sure people will speculate and say I’m not in top form because of the results, I disagree. This was training for me. I’m still testing equipment and getting back in the groove. This is…
— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 7, 2024
“I was put back together again”, referring to her April 2024 partial knee replacement surgery.
Prior to this surgery she was in pain 24 hours a day, the four-time Olympian revealed, and had kept racing through the injuries and pain because of her love for ski racing.
“No injury ever held me back until it finally broke me,” Vonn said to Olympics.com.
“It was pretty soon after surgery in the rehab process that I was already doing things that I hadn’t done in years,” she said.
“I feel stronger now than I did in my mid to late 20s.
“My body is cooperating. And thankfully, that titanium piece is really working out well.”
“I definitely have goals and expectations and I’m trying to be as patient as possible with myself on this journey and take it step by step and not skip any steps,” Vonn said.
“I know my way back to a competitive level might take a race or two, but I certainly intend on on getting back to where I was before.”
The Queen of Speed announced last month that she planned to return to racing, nearly six years after her retirement.
“If she stays healthy and continues to improve the way she is, I think she will be competitive,” the US Ski Team head coach, Paul Kristofic told The Associated Press.
Vonn retired as the world’s most successful speed skier after the World Championships in Sweden in February 2019 where she won downhill bronze.
During her stellar career she suffered numerous serious injuries including broken legs and arms, ligament damage and concussion.
Earlier this year she had a partial knee replacement.
She has recently been training with the US Team’s World Cup skiers who will be competing at Beaver Creek from 11 to 15 December.
According to Paul Kristofic, she has shown promising progress.
“It’s getting better every time she goes out on the hill. It’s been a lot of work to catch up after five years away. But she’s motivated and pushing hard and I think really enjoying it, too,” Kristofic said.
When Vonn retired she had 82 World Cup victories.
At the time it was a record for a woman but she has since been overtaken by Mikaela Shiffin.
Shiffrin is now on 99 wins, more than any alpine racer – female or male – in the history of the sport.
Shiffrin was going for the century last weekend in a giant slalom at Killington, Vermont, when she crashed and was stretchered off injured.
The 100 will have to wait.
Vonn is not the only big name to retire and seek a return to elite racing years later.
The Austrian, Marcel Hirscher, who won eight Overall Crystal Globes, returned to World Cup racing as a wildcard at the start of this season, this time representing the Netherlands.
However, Hirscher suffered a serious knee injury in training is out for the rest of the season.
He has hinted he may not return.
Lindsey Vonn is back! After nearly six years, the Olympic gold medallist is returning to competitive skiing at the FIS Fall Festival this weekend at Copper Mountain. 🏔️
Read more here! 👉 https://t.co/ASWBogPUam@fisalpine @lindseyvonn @usskiteam pic.twitter.com/2v0OXPMryq
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) December 5, 2024
Here at PlanetSKI we’ll let you know how she gets on in St Moritz.
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