In the exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the 41 year old ski heroine claims she is no longer concerned with being thin but she is proud of what her body can do. Vonn, who is 37, is poised to become the oldest woman in the record books to participate in the Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympic six years postal retirement, and she is glad about it, not crying foul about it.
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Vonn states that age does not make a bad disadvantage. “I’ve got experience on my side. I have taken these courses several times than any other person, and I even like to test what people assume. In the event that to break another record is to be the oldest on the field, I do not mind that either.
She is also open about body image, she jokes that nothing will ever make curves be out of fashion as she also says that she has gained about 12 pounds but it was not by accident. The extra weight is muscle in the case of Vonn and it is the key to her sport. Ski racing is gravity: that is all, she says. The heavier the better I can make a go.
Vonn puts it plainly that she is over with pursuing unrealistic ideals. She lost her weight through last year stress and worked hard to gain it back. No, I do not have to be skinny, she says. “What matters is being strong. I would like people to be proud of what their bodies do to them not only of how they appear.
In 2024, she got her comeback after finally being pain-free following a knee replacement that she had been experiencing discomfort before. She felt physically fit, as she had not been in a long time. “There was no swelling, no pain. I had no stop to me, she remembers. The thought of coming back to a sport that she loves, and not hurting was too exciting to pass through.
Responding to the fact that Vonn created a satisfying life after retiring in 2019, and she mainly engaged in philanthropy, she confides that she never felt completely content with the way her career was terminated. I did not have the finish of which I wanted, she says. “I didn’t want to limp away. I wanted to end strong.”
At this point, feeling confident and with a new frame of reference, Vonn is not only striving to win medals anymore, but she has the goal of altering the attitude of people toward ageing, power, and what women in their 40s can accomplish.
