With an outstanding 14th place finish in the Super G at St. Moritz, three-time Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn made her impressive World Cup comeback after more than five years away from the sport.
The 40-year-old athlete shared that she will be competing again despite having retired in 2019 last November, after her successful knee surgery. With hopes to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Vonn finished with a performance record of 1:16.36, 1.18 seconds behind the winner, Cornelia Hutter of Austria.
In a social media post, she stated: “I’m officially BACK!! 🙌🏻❤️… It’s been 2,162 days since my last World Cup race (almost 6 years!) but yesterday I got back in the starting gate and competed once again…. I finished 14th, which was a perfect place to start. This is only the beginning though, and I’m looking forward to all of the adventures that lie ahead.”
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Furthermore, Vonn told Eurosport: “I felt really good, there’s definitely a lot I have left to give…I really wanted to get to the finish today and be solid. I didn’t want to risk too much, today was not the day to do anything special.”
She added: “It feels so good to have the nerves, to have the butterflies, to have the adrenaline, and to push yourself… I think this is the perfect start and I look forward to trying to improve every race.”
Earlier this month, she returned to competition in Copper Mountain, Colorado, where she placed 27th in her second downhill race and ranked 24th out of 45 skiers in her first at the FIS Fall Festival.
After making her World Cup debut in 2000 at the age of 16, she has won a total of 82 World Cup victories, 137 World Cup podiums, and 20 World Cup crowns, including four overall Crystal Globes.
Source: BBC