Vonn’s Back

Almost six years after her last World Cup race, American star Lindsey Vonn made a remarkable return to competitive action on Saturday in Switzerland, producing an impressive run to finish in 14th place from a starting number of 31 in the Super-G at St. Moritz.

The 40-year-old, who is the third most successful ski racer of all time in terms of World Cup wins, announced her retirement in February 2019 at the World Championships in Åre, Sweden, due to a series of injuries, but underwent knee replacement surgery in April of this year as two titanium rods were inserted into her right knee.

The successful surgery allowed Vonn to return to action and earlier this month she was able to compete at the FIS Fall Festival in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

This weekend marked her competitive return and all eyes were on Vonn. Following an understandably cautious start, she soon settled into the race and was able to finish in 1:16.36, 1.18 seconds slower than winner Austria's Cornelia Hutter.

After the race, Vonn said: “Today was the perfect start. I had a solid run and got to the finish. The first one is the hardest. I felt really good. The course was a little bit bumpy when I went, so in some sections I was a little more conservative with my lines. But in some sections, I was really fast. There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give, I just wanted to get to the finish today and be solid."

Vonn made her World Cup debut aged 16 in 2000 and went on to win 20 World Cup titles (including four overall Crystal Globes), eight World Championship medals and 82 World Cups.

She is now bidding to become the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, with the current record being held by Italian Federica Brignone who won the giant slalom in Austria earlier this year at the age of 34.
Vonn was due to race again on Sunday but strong winds and poor visibility led to the event being cancelled. That means she is now likely to return to action in St. Anton, Austria, on January 11-12.