Lindsey Vonn announces return to skiing nearly 6 years after retirement

Lindsey Vonn has announced a miraculous – and surprising – return to the slopes.

Nearly six years after the Olympic gold medalist announced her retirement from skiing, Vonn, 40, has planned an unexpected comeback.

“My career ended with no intention of coming back,” Vonn said New York Times in a story published on Thursday, November 14. But after undergoing knee surgery seven months ago, she started skiing again.

To Vonn’s shock, she was able to make it out pain-free. “I had a smile so wide it came through the back of my helmet,” Vonn said.

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Vonn will rejoin the U.S. Ski Team on Friday, Nov. 15, a series of events that she called “awesome and definitely not planned.”

Optimistically, Vonn hopes to begin competing on the World Cup circuit in the coming months with the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy looming in the distance.

“I try not to get too far ahead of myself because I have quite a few hoops to jump through,” Vonn said. “Obviously I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t hoping to race. I have aspirations. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know.”

Vonn has logged 15 days of “on-snow race training” in Europe and New Zealand since August, and will participate in the US team’s practice sessions at Colorado’s Copper Mountain this weekend, focusing on the super-G and downhill speed disciplines.

The US Ski and Snowboard Team triumphantly announced Vonn’s return Thursday, saying she has “left an indelible mark on alpine skiing and our organization throughout her career.”

“We are delighted to welcome her back,” Sophie GoldschmidtPresident and CEO of US Ski and Snowboard, said in a statement. “Her dedication and passion for alpine skiing is inspiring, and we’re excited to have her back on snow and see where she can go from here.”

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A three-time Olympic medalist and former world champion, Vonn last competed in February 2019 at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Sweden, where she won a bronze in the women’s downhill. At the age of 34, Vonn became it oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship.

Vonn had announced her retirement prior to the event, citing her long history with injuries.

“The unfortunate reality is that my mind and body are not on the same page,” Vonn said in a statement at the time. “After many sleepless nights, I have finally accepted that I cannot continue skiing.”

She continued: “Over the past few years I’ve had more injuries and surgeries than I care to admit. I’ve always pushed the limits of skiing and that’s allowed me to have great success but also dramatic crashes.”