US star back on the slopes at 40 Almost six years off: Vonn makes an appealing ski comeback
She's back: Lindsey Vonn has competed in her first race after almost six years out of skiing. At the age of 40 and with an artificial knee, she put in a decent performance.
07.12.2024, 18:51
dpa
2127 days after her last race to date, Lindsey Vonn has returned from skiing retirement - twice over. The former speed dominator and Olympic champion competed in two FIS downhill races in Copper Mountain in the space of one morning.
She performed well and kept the gap within limits: Vonn finished 24th in the first race and 27th in the second; in each case she was around one and a half seconds behind the fastest racers. The American, who is now 40 years old, crashed down the piste with an artificial knee - she wants to make her comeback in the World Cup soon.
Several downhill stars at the start
The races in the US state of Colorado were officially FIS events and therefore below World Cup level. Nevertheless, many elite athletes such as Cornelia Hütter, the overall downhill winner of the last World Cup season, and her Austrian teammate Mirjam Puchner - who finished second in the super-G at the 2022 Olympics - were at the start.
The best German downhill skiers Kira Weidle-Winkelmann and Emma Aicher, who both finished in the top 8, and former overall World Cup winner Federica Brignone (Italy) also took part.
Vonn sees the race as training
"I'm using this as a training opportunity," Vonn announced on Facebook the day before the start. "100 percent will come in time, but not tomorrow." After the races, she was celebrated by some fans and signed autographs. Two super-Gs are scheduled for Sunday.
The American, who won 82 World Cups, Olympic gold in 2010 and two World Championship titles before retiring in February 2019, also wants to compete in World Cups again this winter. The last rumor was that she wanted to compete as a forerunner in the speed events next weekend in Beaver Creek. The two Super-Gs a week later in St. Moritz, Switzerland, were targeted as her World Cup race comeback.
