PARIS — American skiing great Lindsey Vonn will come out of retirement at the age 40 to rejoin the US ski team, US Ski Snowboard said after she returned to training following a successful knee surgery earlier this year.
Vonn, a three-times Olympic medallist and four-times overall World Cup champion, had retired in 2019 after a bruising 18-year career where she suffered several injuries.
She had retired as the most decorated athlete in women’s skiing when she finished her career with 82 World Cup wins — a record that was broken in January 2023 by American compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin.
Vonn underwent partial knee replacement surgery in April and has been training in recent months to test her knee before taking the decision to return to competitive skiing.
“Getting back to skiing without pain has been an incredible journey. I am looking forward to being back with the US Ski Team and to continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women,” Vonn said in a statement according to Reuters.
Vonn, a speed specialist who is considered one of the greatest ski racers of all time and who helped raise the profile of the sport in the United States, did not indicate when or which races she would enter.
Since first suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2007, Vonn has been sidelined with frequent knee problems and broken bones.
She missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics due to a serious knee injury which she has been managing ever since.
Vonn, who recorded her first World Cup victory in 2004, has 20 World Cup titles which include four overall Crystal Globes.
She has also won eight World Championship medals and has 137 World Cup podium finishes.
At the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Vonn became the first American woman to win an Olympic downhill gold. She also won a super-G Olympic bronze in 2010 and a downhill bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
“Lindsey has made an indelible mark on Alpine skiing and our organisation throughout her career. We’re delighted to welcome her back,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, the president and CEO of US Ski Snowboard.
“Her dedication and passion towards Alpine skiing is inspiring and we’re excited to have her back on snow and see where she can go from here.”
As recognisable on the red carpet as she is on the ski hill, the personable Vonn, who once dated professional golfer Tiger Woods, had a crossover appeal that made her the sport’s most popular athlete and earned her many lucrative endorsement deals.
When she called time on her career after dealing with a lengthy list of injuries — including broken bones, torn knee ligaments and concussions — Vonn said the decision was because she felt her body was “broken beyond repair.”
But Vonn was spotted training in New Zealand earlier this year and more recently on the slopes of Solden, Austria, where the new season kicked off last month, fuelling speculation that she was eyeing a comeback, according to Olympics.com.
“I have severe tri-compartment degeneration but the main compartment that has been painful is the lateral compartment, or the outside of my knee,” Vonn said in April. She described a type of knee replacement surgery in which bone is removed and replaced with titanium pieces.
“With this new knee that is now a part of me… I feel like a whole new chapter of my life is unfolding before my eyes,” she said last month on Instagram.
If Vonn is able to return, it would be the latest sign that her abilities aren’t subject to the same constraints as other athletes. Back in 2012, her thirst for speed and competition led her to argue for being allowed to race against men, a request that the International Ski Federation rejected.
Weeks later, she skied at up to 136 kilometres per hour (84.5 mph) in a downhill training run at Lake Louise in Canada — a speed reportedly unmatched by male skiers at the event.
Vonn had recently hinted at a potential return to racing. And in recent months, her presence on slopes in New Zealand and Austria caused a stir, fueling speculation that she might try to resume competitive skiing in December, when World Cup races will be held in Colorado.
Sofia Goggia, Vonn’s friend and fellow speed specialist, welcomed those rumors, saying that a) it’s a sign Vonn feels healthy; and b) it would be fun to have her back.
“It would be great to race in the World Cup with my idol,” Goggia told the Olympics.com site last month.
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