Lindsey Vonn recorded an exit from a World Cup downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, as she continues her quest to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics after a nearly six-year retirement.
Per Zack Pierce of The Athletic, Vonn “was kicked out of position around a turn and skied out with seven gates to go.”
The 40-year-old Vonn has won 82 times on the World Cup tour with four overall titles from 2008-2010 and then again in 2012. Of note, forty-three of her wins occurred in the downhill event, while 28 derived from the Super-G.
Vonn is a three-time Olympic medallist, winning gold in the downhill in 2010 and bronze in the Super-G in 2010 and downhill in 2018. She is a two-time gold medalist at the World Championships (downhill and Super-G). in 2009).
Injuries forced her retirement in 2019, as Vonn said her body was “broken beyond repair.” She’s dealt with a host of knee surgeries and issues during her career.
However, a knee replacement in 2024 gave him a new life in the game and Vonn announced his return in November last year.
Vonn joined the World Cup tour and finished 14th in the Super-G at St. Moritz on Dec. 21. She steadily improved from there, taking sixth at the downhill on Jan. 11 in St. Anton, just .58 seconds behind first place. Then she finished fourth one day later.
Vonn hasn’t fared as well since, taking 20th at the downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Jan. 18 before a fall led to a DNF at the Super-G the next day.
Of course, there’s still plenty of time for Vonn to qualify, and more events remain this season. She also has time to register a good finish this weekend with the Super-G on Sunday.
Vonn despite the fact that everything has been impressive sometimes since his return, especially contemplating the long and arduous path that travels only to compete again. In fact, its prefabricated speed in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the super-g “would have supported a point podium,” through Pierce.
Vonn has work to do, but he obviously has his eyes set on the upcoming Winter Olympics, which begin in Milan and from Cortina to Ampezo, Italy. “It would be a wonderful way to end things, once and for all. “