Six years after her emotional farewell in Åre, Lindsey Vonn stood atop the Tofana course in a red-white-blue race suit, goggles perched on her helmet, grinning like the 20-year-old who once shocked the ski world. The 41-year-old American legend is officially back, and this time she insists the script is hers to write.
“I’m focused, but I’m having so much fun,” Vonn told reporters after Wednesday’s downhill training run, her first official World Cup laps since 2019. “The mountain hasn’t changed. The speed still feels the same. What’s different is me—I’m here for the joy of it.”
The comeback, announced in September, culminates this weekend with the Cortina speed doubleheader: downhill on Saturday, November 15, and super-G on Sunday, November 16. Both races serve as critical Olympic qualifiers for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, but Vonn frames them as milestones rather than mandates. “I’m not chasing podiums,” she said. “I’m chasing the feeling I had when I won my first World Cup here in 2005.”
Her return is built on meticulous preparation. After multiple knee surgeries and a partial knee replacement in 2024, Vonn spent the off-season in New Zealand and Chile, logging 42 training days on snow. She partnered with Red Bull’s high-performance team and U.S. Ski Team physiologist Tschana Schiller to rebuild aerobic capacity and proprioception. The result: a 1.12-second gap to leader Sofia Goggia in Wednesday’s training, respectable for a racer who hasn’t competed at this level in 2,432 days.
Cortina holds sacred ground for Vonn. She claimed her first World Cup victory here two decades ago and earned downhill bronze at the 2023 test event—her only post-retirement race start before today. Local organizers rolled out a hero’s welcome: a banner reading “Benvenuta Campionessa” draped across the finish area and a ceremonial bell rung by 2006 Olympic downhill champion Antonia Pellegrino.
Yet the spotlight extends beyond nostalgia. Vonn’s presence injects star power into a women’s speed field transitioning without Federica Brignone (injured) and with Mikaela Shiffrin selective in super-G. Italy’s Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill gold medalist, leads the early speed rankings, while Switzerland’s Corinne Suter and Austria’s Cornelia Hütter round out a formidable chase group. Vonn, starting bib 19 on Saturday, embraces underdog status. “I’m not the favorite, and that’s liberating,” she said.
Off the hill, Vonn’s perspective has matured. She speaks openly about mental health, the isolation of elite sport, and the freedom of racing without the weight of 82 victories (now tied with Ingemar Stenmark). Her foundation, the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, will host a girls’ ski clinic in Cortina on Friday, emphasizing empowerment over results. “If I can show one kid that comebacks are possible—at any age—that’s a win,” she said.
Weather cooperates: sunny skies, firm snow, and temperatures near -2°C (28°F) promise classic Tofana conditions. NBC Sports and Peacock carry live coverage starting at 11:30 a.m. CET (5:30 a.m. ET) Saturday, with Sunday’s super-G at the same hour.
As Vonn clicked into her bindings Wednesday, she paused to absorb the roar from the grandstands. “This is why I came back,” she said. “The mountain, the speed, the people—it’s all still here. And for the first time in a long time, I’m just happy to be part of it.”
