Emotional comebacks of former stars create as much excitement among sport fans as spectacular achievements of unknown talents who suddenly manage to beat top-favorites on the toughest slopes! The recent women’s competitions at St. Moritz, in Switzerland, have great chances to be ranked among the most exciting in past seasons with the stunning performances of USA’s Lindsey Vonn!
What the now 41-year-old accomplished this past weekend on the demanding Corviglia course was just awesome. It was surely hard for her critics to believe that the US ski star celebrated her 83rd victory on the World Cup tour clearly beating the rest of the field in the first downhill - more than seven years after her previous triumph and following a five-year-long-pause which included another knee-operation.
The four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist confirmed her excellent form the days after with her 2nd place in the following downhill, only a few tenths behind Germany’s impressive Emma Aicher, who enjoyed her maiden victory on the circuit last February at Kvitfjell. Then, on Sunday, Lindsey claimed a strong 4th position in the first Super-G of the season – only 4/100 of a second shy from the podium. Vonn only lost 27/100 on New Zealand’s giant slalom specialist Alice Robinson, already a two-time winner in recent weeks in Copper Mountain, Colorado, and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. Just amazing in reality!
I had the chance to follow Lindsey’s career since her debuts on the World Cup tour at the beginning of the century. During that long time, I watched most of her most remarkable races including her two FIS gold medals at Val d’Isère 2009, her Olympic triumph at Vancouver 2010 or her very emotional moment of glory in January 2015 when she passed Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Proell best mark of 62 victories with one of her twelve wins at Cortina d’Ampezzo.
In those intense years, she unfortunately also faced some cruel and depressing accidents which sometimes prevented her from competing for a long time – especially after her dramatic crash in Super-G at Schladming 2013 which forbade her to race at the 2014 Olympics at Sochi… It certainly cost her dozens of potential victories on the tour!
Yet, she never stopped to surprise or to impress everyone with her sheer determination, her love for speed and, foremost, her willpower which pushed her so much forward when she had to fight hard to get back at the top. It’s said that she often spent over eight hours in her gym in those years to get in shape!
I still remember interviewing her for the first time at Lake Louise, Alberta, I believe in December 2001, after she surprisingly clocked the best time in a training run. I asked what her ambitions for the races were on the next days– “to win of course” she candidly said with a grin. I was pretty astonished by the strong optimism of the teenager she still was at that time. She had to wait a few years to finally keep her promise in December 2004, the first of a total of 18 until 2015 including three triplets.
She went through very disappointing days in her first major medal events at the FIS Worlds in 2005 (Bormio-Santa Caterina) and the 2006 Olympics at Sestriere where she finished 8th in downhill after spending a few days in the hospital at Turin following a horrendous crash in training! But as Nietzsche used to say – What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger – she always came back with much motivation. Encouraged by two FIS silver medals in the speed events at Are 2007, she captured her first big crystal globe the following winter before claiming her first gold medals at Val d’Isère 2009 and Vancouver 2010!
There is only little doubt in my mind that Lindsey could have reached way more without all those nasty injuries which surely prevented her from improving Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 wins or clinching at least another big crystal globe in 2016 without that bad crash in Andorra. Yet many other top champions faced those kinds of fate in their career including Tina Maze or Mikaela Shiffrin on various occasions.
Lindsey’s return on the tour could well become one of the most exciting stories in the long history of the World Cup, especially if she decides to keep on racing after the Olympics. Lindsey Vonn was planning to step down for real in February 2026 after her races at Cortina d'Ampezzo, yet after her success at St. Moritz, she already mentioned that she could aim for the rest of the season and the 2026 Finals at Kvitfjell /Hafjell in case she is in serious contention for a 21st Crystal Globe in downhill or Super-G.
Another thrilling side effect of Vonn's return on the tour is the presence at her side of one of Norway's skiing heroes, Aksel Lund Svindal, who seems to enjoy being at her side as an key adviser on strategic matters including her equipment. It's a huge enrichment for alpine ski racing to see the multiple Olympic Champion back on the slopes with his huge smile and his smart mind. At St.Moritz, Lindsey emphasized the important role that Aksel has been playing on her side since last summer after she asked him for help and advice.
A staff of nearly a dozen people coordinated by the management of Red Bull’s Athletes Special Project created twenty years ago by Austria’s former downhill coach Robert Trenkwalder is helping Lindsey since she decided in summer 2024 to return to the racing scene. “They are doing an amazing job to help me move at my best level,” she explained during a press conference held before the races. “I gained much power since last spring and I feel in great shape now,” she added. “I’m so happy to have the chance to be back on the circuit now with the chance to fight again for Olympic medals in February at Cortina d’Ampezzo, my preferred stop of the tour,” Vonn also said.
The emotion which overwhelmed her during the award ceremony after her victory showed how much this performance meant to her! “Maybe my greatest win ever,” she even admitted. “It means so much for all of us, it also helps to prove that everything is possible even at 41 when you work very hard.”
Let’s hope to see her in March at Kvitfjell - where she celebrated her first ever Super-G victory in March 2006 - on her way to become one of the few athletes able to excel in all usual alpine specialties!
Words and pictures Patrick Lang