(Clarifies “runs” to “races” in paragraphs 1 and 3) :Olympic gold medallist Lindsey Vonn made her competitive return for the first time in nearly six years on Saturday, as the 40-year-old American placed in the mid-pack during her opening race in Copper Mountain, Colorado. The four-time overall World Cup champion announced her retirement in 2019 […]
(Clarifies “runs” to “races” in paragraphs 1 and 3)
:Olympic gold medallist Lindsey Vonn made her competitive return for the first time in nearly six years on Saturday, as the 40-year-old American placed in the mid-pack during her opening race in Copper Mountain, Colorado.
The four-time overall World Cup champion announced her retirement in 2019 and underwent partial knee replacement surgery in April, resuming training in recent months and confirming her comeback in November.
Vonn secured 24th place out of 45 skiers in her first of two downhill races with a time of 1:07.23, which was 1.44 seconds behind the winner, Mirjam Puchner of Austria, at the lower-tier FIS Fall Festival.
“Today was a great start and I had a fantastic time being at the starting line with my teammates again,” Vonn expressed on social media.
“While I know some may speculate and claim that I’m not at my peak because of the results, I disagree. This was more of a training session for me.
“I’m still in the process of testing equipment and finding my rhythm again. This is just the beginning, and how I ski is more significant than the times at this stage.”
Vonn concluded her career as the most celebrated woman in alpine skiing with 82 World Cup victories, a record that has since been surpassed as her fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin has achieved 99 wins and continues to build on that total.
