Lindsey Vonn announced her return to competition this Thursday. She is returning to the American team this week and wants to be present in Beaver Creek. But some questions must be asked about this choice, while the skier from Colorado is now 40 years old.
This was the big news on Thursday, November 14. Lindsey Vonn, 40, returns to the American speed team and hopes to quickly return to the World Cup. Her goal is to be an opener at Beaver Creek (December 14-15) and to start the super-G in Saint-Moritz the following week. In an interview with the New York Times, the American superstar announced his return, with great motivation.
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What is his physical condition?
This retirement inevitably raises many questions. His physique, his years away from skiing, his new goals, even the world of skiing is questioning himself. This is the big question mark on this return, will Lindsey Vonn be physically ready? During her career, the Colorado skier suffered many injuries, sometimes serious. Although she always recovered, the pain was, despite everything, often persistent. This is what led to the end of his career, after the 2019 Worlds in Are. The champion stopped at 82 World Cup successes, not surpassing Ingemar Stenmark (86).
The impressive list of his injuries
2002 et 2006 : hip and back affected following a fall downhill
2007 : partial tear of the cruciate ligament of the right knee, in slalom
2008 : thumb operation following a large cut
February 2013 : rupture of a cruciate ligament, a tibial collateral ligament and rupture of the tibial plateau during the Worlds
November 2013 : partial tear of a cruciate ligament
February 2016 : triple fracture of the tibial plateau
November 2016 : open fracture of the right arm
2018 : new knee injury, leading to the end of his career in February 2019
Avril 2024 : knee operation. “I had this operation because I was at the end of the road,” she says. Three millimeters of bone were removed from his knee, to place a titanium piece in its place.
Far from the slopes, Lindsey Vonn still remained active. Over the last five years, the skier has found work, invested, shared with younger generations. She became a board member of Angel City FC, a women's soccer club based in Los Angeles. Vonn is an ambassador for the Under Armor brand and maintains close ties with its main sponsors such as Red Bull, Rolex and Land Rover. His business plan is very muscular.
What did she do during her five-year retirement?
She also collaborated with HEAD, her equipment supplier, on a collection of ski clothing. In 2022, the then 38-year-old athlete released an autobiography called “Rise: My Story”. Several years ago, she also launched the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, allowing teenage girls from working-class backgrounds to obtain scholarships and significant educational support. A Colorado skier born in Minnesota, the American has lived in the heat of Miami for the past few years. Recently, she pushed with the IOC in favor of Salt Lake City's candidacy for the organization of the 2034 Olympic Games. Her presence in Paris, at the time of the nomination, was noted.
We also saw him on the track on the Eclipse of Courchevel before the 2023 Worldsduring a vacation in Courchevel, or even night skiing in Kitzbühel on the Streif.
What is his program?
As previously said, Lindsey Vonn wants to return to competition in Saint-Moritz, in super-G, after testing herself as an opener in Beaver Creek. With the announcement of her return, she is training this week at Copper Mountain with the American team. After New Zealand and Sölden, his training is currently concentrated in his mountains in Colorado. Remember that Head provided him with a technician to help him as much as possible in his project.
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What are its objectives?
On her current level of preparation, Lindsey Vonn concedes that she needs to move up a gear. “I’ve done jumps and 60-second runs in super-G but no full races yet” she recalls in her interview with the New York Times. She told the New York Times, “Above all, I want to have fun.” She continues. “Obviously, I wouldn't do all this if I didn't have the hope of running again. I want to be fast but will I be? I don't know. »Clearly, she will not return to make up the numbers and intends to quickly return to the forefront. And the 2026 Olympics are not very far away… “I love Cortina,” recalls the star mischievously.
The woman with 82 World Cup victories had knee surgery again last April. “I had this operation because I was at the end of the road,” she says. Three millimeters of bone were removed from his knee, to place a titanium piece in its place. Since then, no more pain, a first in a long time. In New Zealand, she was able to do 15 runs in a day, which had almost never happened to her. She shows her physical training on her social networks and the sessions are multiplying. The form returns.
With which bib for this comeback?
Lindsey Vonn should therefore soon return to the World Cup and she will be helped by the new FIS regulations. Like Marcel Hirscher, she can request a wild card for the races where she wishes to be at the start and will leave with bib 31 on her shoulders. Please note, you need a maximum of 80 FIS points to be at the start of a downhill or super-G (it is beyond 100 points at the moment. You may have to start lower level races .
What does the ski world think?
At the beginning of October, during Atomic's “Media day”, Mikaela Shiffrin was able to comment on what were still only rumors. “I wish him the best. This is good news if she is feeling well and able to come back. This is a sign that she is no longer in pain and that her body is OK. » “Intrigued”, the American is as much as Florence Masnada. The double Olympic medalist declared in L'Equipe that she does not see the American coming back to make up the numbers. “Lindsey comes back to win. It’s the US spirit, I don’t see her settling for 25th place at all. Women's skiing has evolved in its absence, the girls are putting a lot more commitment into speed. »
In Sölden, during the press conference of Head, their common equipment supplier, Lara Gut-Behrami was not really enthusiastic: “I don't want to make a controversy, but I'm not sure that it's a good thing. » Many veterans like Franz Klammer or Markus Wasmaier are not really thrilled either.
When Lindsey Vonn wanted to run with the men
Lindsey Vonn has made alpine skiing history in different ways, on and off the slope. Another milestone could have been reached during his career, that of running with the men. The American pushed for a long time to the FIS for the opportunity to race against the men but the body always refused. First in 2012, the international federation refused his request to race with the men on his favorite track (14 victories), at Lake Louise. Bis repeated in 2018, refusal with the justification that no exception could be made. A project that fell through, to date, no woman has raced against me on the men's alpine ski circuit.
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