Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable journey in alpine skiing reached another emotional peak in 2018, when the American legend battled through a barrage of injuries, mounting age, and rising young rivals to claim a hard-fought bronze medal in the women’s downhill at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics — her most recent Olympic hardware before stepping away in 2019.
Now, at 41, Vonn is staging one of sport’s greatest comebacks, fresh off her 84th career World Cup victory (a stunning downhill win in Zauchensee, Austria, on January 10, 2026), and she’s locked in for her fifth and final Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026, starting February 6.
Here are iconic shots from Vonn’s triumphant 2018 PyeongChang downhill bronze — an emotional moment that symbolized her unbreakable grit:
In PyeongChang, Vonn entered what many thought would be her farewell Games as a veteran still chasing glory. After drawing an unlucky early bib in super-G (finishing joint-sixth), the downhill was her golden shot. Starting seventh, she watched Italian rival Sofia Goggia set the pace at 1:39.22. Vonn attacked fiercely but finished 0.47 seconds back for bronze, sandwiched between Goggia’s gold and Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel’s silver.
The result made Vonn the oldest woman to medal in alpine skiing at the Olympics and cemented her status with the most downhill Olympic medals for a woman. Crossing the line, she pointed skyward in tribute to her late grandfather, whose initials adorned her helmet — a poignant, tearful celebration of perseverance amid multiple surgeries, a torn ACL/MCL, and tibial fractures that once derailed her 2014 Sochi dreams.
Check out the raw emotion and podium pride from that unforgettable day:
After retiring in early 2019 following yet another injury, Vonn’s improbable return — powered by knee-replacement surgery and sheer determination — has seen her podium in every downhill this season, including that historic Zauchensee triumph for win No. 84. She’s now second all-time in World Cup victories (trailing only Mikaela Shiffrin’s 106+), and her momentum makes her a serious medal threat in downhill and super-G at Cortina d’Ampezzo — a venue where she holds the record with 12 World Cup wins.
Recent high-speed heroics from Vonn’s comeback trail:
Vonn’s story is pure inspiration: from watching the 2014 Sochi gold slip away due to injury, to defying the odds in 2018, to now charging back at 41 with titanium-reinforced resolve. As she eyes adding to her Olympic tally (one gold from Vancouver 2010, two bronzes), the “speed queen” proves age is just a number when grit meets passion. Milano Cortina awaits — and Vonn is ready to make more history.
