In Case You Missed It: Lindsey Vonn Is Back

December 15, 2025

If you were looking for a “feel-it-out” return, Lindsey Vonn didn’t get the memo.

On Friday in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Vonn won the first FIS World Cup downhill of the 2025–26 season by 0.98 seconds — a gap that’s almost unheard of at this level — and instantly turned her comeback from a question mark into a headline.

Nearly a full second clear doesn’t just win races. It changes the tone of the whole winter.

A statement win, not a sentimental moment

This wasn’t a “nice to see her out there” finish. It was a straight-up flex on one of the sport’s most demanding stages — speed, ice, visibility, nerves, all of it. Vonn’s victory was also her 83rd career World Cup win, and her first since March 2018.

At 41, she also set a new mark as the oldest alpine skiing World Cup winner, surpassing the previous benchmark held by Swiss legend Didier Cuche.

That’s not a footnote. That’s history.

The week told you it was coming

The warning signs were there before bibs were even pinned. Vonn came back this season saying she wanted to mix it up with the current generation of downhill stars — including Italy’s Sofia Goggia — and she backed it up immediately by going fastest in the first downhill training session on Wednesday by 0.59 seconds.

That’s not “finding form.” That’s arriving with form.

How the race unfolded

St. Moritz set the table with drama early. Vonn had to wait while 15 racers dropped ahead of her, with young German standout Emma Aicher briefly going quickest, then Austria’s Mirjam Puchner jumping in front.

Goggia went next — and even with her pedigree (multiple downhill titles), she couldn’t move past Puchner, settling into second 0.15 back, with Aicher in third.

Then it was Vonn’s turn, and the run itself wasn’t some perfect, wire-to-wire domination.

She was seventh at the second intermediate.

But by the third split she’d found her line, found her speed, and started doing what great speed skiers do — building momentum where everyone else bleeds it. She turned it on through the bottom half and crossed the line 1.16 seconds ahead of Puchner. Austria’s Magdalena Egger later slid into second, still leaving Vonn the winner by that massive 0.98 margin.

That detail matters: she didn’t need a flawless top section to crush the clock. When she starts putting full runs together, the ceiling gets even scarier.

“I don’t have to drive at the limit”

Afterward, Vonn made the whole thing sound almost controlled — which might be the most intimidating part.

Read that again. If she’s winning without redlining, the rest of the field has a problem.

“I knew I was skiing fast, but you never know until the first race. I think I was a little faster than I expected. It’s a very exciting time. It felt so good. I don’t have to drive at the limit, and I’m still fast and driving cleanly.”

The bigger picture: building toward the biggest stage

Vonn isn’t shy about what this season is really about.

She’ll use the bulk of the 2025–26 downhill calendar as a runway toward next year’s biggest target — the “world’s biggest winter stage.” And she knows what it takes there: in her Olympic career she’s banked one downhill gold, plus downhill bronze and Super-G bronze.

For Vonn, this isn’t nostalgia. It’s a mission.

The mindset behind the comeback

Fresh off a U.S. Ski Team training camp in Colorado, Vonn framed the season in a way that fits her brand perfectly — belief, work, and total commitment to the process.

What do you love about skiing?
“There are a lot of things I love about skiing, but mainly the feeling that anything is possible. You can ski as fast as you push yourself, and it feels like a limitless feeling of opportunity.”

What are your strengths, and what makes you a great athlete?
“One of my biggest strengths is my hard work ethic. It doesn’t matter what I face or what’s in front of me, I will keep working as hard or as long as it takes to get to where I want to go. As an athlete, that’s one of the most important things.”

And because downhill isn’t downhill without danger, she didn’t pretend speed racing is something you can “manifest” your way through.

Risk is inherent in racing at an elite level. What’s your strategy for managing it?
“I think planning and preparation are the ways to mitigate the risk in ski racing. Things like knowing where you’re going, being as strong as you can, and being mentally prepared give you the best chance of success and making it down in one piece. But going 85 mph, anything can happen. You can prepare all you want, but it is a dangerous sport.”

That’s the real Vonn: fearless, but not reckless — calculated, prepared, and brutally honest.

Why the Olympics hit different

As the season turns toward the Games, Vonn also explained why that stage isn’t like any other start gate.

“The games are special because you’re representing your country. It’s different from a World Cup or the World Championships. It’s a competition that is far greater than yourself. You’re part of a team, but representing the entire country, and that is a privilege that I feel very lucky to have experienced.”

The takeaway she wants people to feel

For Vonn, the point of this comeback isn’t just adding another result to the stat sheet. She wants the ripple effect — especially for anyone watching who thinks the best window has already closed.

“I hope people are inspired to believe in themselves. This comeback was unexpected, but I’m proving a lot of people wrong and changing people’s expectations about what’s possible at an older age. I hope people are more inclined to pursue their own dreams than they were before.”