Lindsey Vonn, 41, becomes oldest woman to win World Cup race

FABRICE COFFRINI via Getty Images

U.S. downhill skiier Lindsey Vonn added to her legendary résumé on Friday by winning her 83rd career downhill World Cup race in St. Moritz.

The victory also made the 41-year-old Vonn the oldest woman ever to win a World Cup race.

Vonn, a four-time World Champion, beat out Austria's Magdalena Egger by 0.98 seconds with a time of 1 minute and 29.63 seconds for her first win since 2018.

"I knew I was skiing fast but you never know until the first race," Vonn told TNT Sports. "I think I was a little faster than I expected. It's a very exciting time."

Vonn's 83 World Cup wins are third all-time, men or women.

After retiring in 2019 due to knee problems, Vonn returned to competition in Dec. 2024 with a eye on qualifying for the 2026 Olympics in Italy. 

"Obviously my goal is Cortina but if this is the way we start I think I'm in a good spot," said Vonn.

Vonn has dominated in her career at Cortina d'Ampezzo, the location of the Olympic skiing competition in February, with 12 World Cup wins. It's a special place that played a factor in her deciding to come out of retirement.

“I don't think I would have tried this comeback if the Olympics weren't in Cortina,” Vonn said in November. “If it had been anywhere else, I would probably say it's not worth it. But for me, there's something special about Cortina that always pulls me back, and it's pulled me back one last time.”

Vonn won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and picked up another bronze medal in 2018 in Pyeongchang.

Vonn's competition isn't done in St. Moritz. She has another downhill race on Saturday and then a super-G on Sunday.