NEED TO KNOW
Lindsey Vonn is opening up about why she returned to racing after six years of retirement
She says she wouldn’t have considered the 2026 Winter Olympics except for this one personal thing
She’ll be making history as the oldest ever Alpine skier to race at a Winter Olympics
When Lindsey Vonn, 41, announced that she was coming out of retirement in 2024 — six years after she walked away from ski racing and focused on her girls’ sports foundation — there was both a collective cheer and a collective, “Why?”
The answer is simple: because she could. After she’d suffered multiple torn ACLs and countless injuries throughout her career, a partial titanium knee replacement in 2024 gave the three-time Olympic medalist (including one gold) a new lease on life.
“My body was so different,” she says. “I didn’t have any pain at all; my knee didn’t swell. I felt like I could do anything. The thought of ski racing again, something I loved to do so much, but without pain, was really exciting.”
Plus, she didn’t love the way she’d been forced to call it quits. The possibility of a do-over with another string of victories tantalized her.
Lindsey Vonn Tout
Lindsey Vonn. Harry How/Getty Images
“I built an amazing life and was really happy in retirement,” she says of mostly focusing on her philanthropy. “But I didn’t finish my career the way I wanted to. I was limping away when I wanted to finish strong.” Now she’s making history as the oldest woman to ever compete in Alpine racing in Winter Olympics history.
But that wasn’t the only reason she’s looking forward to 2026 in Cortina — there’s a personal reason too.
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“Honestly, I don’t know if I would have done this if it wasn’t at Cortina,” she admits. “It’s where I got my first podium [placing third at the 2004 World Cup]. I also broke the women’s World Cup record there.”
It’s also where both of her parents, Alan and Lindy, who divorced when she was young, were in attendance to watch her get her first podium in 2004.
SUN VALLEY, IDAHO – MARCH 23: Lindsey Vonn of Team United States celebrates second place on the podium in the women’s Super-G during the STIFEL FIS World Cup Finals at Sun Valley Resort on March 23, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Vonn’s mother died in 2022 after a year-long battle with ALS, and Vonn was deeply affected by the loss.
The skier now has a chance to honor her mother, back where it all started.
“It’s one of the few races in my whole career that both of my parents were at,” she says. “So it’s a very special place for me.”
