The Olympic skier came out of nearly six-year retirement from the sport last season following a partial replacement surgery on her right knee
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Lindsey Vonn wins downhill in St. Mortiz at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup on Dec. 12, 2025.NEED TO KNOW
- Lindsey Vonn earned her first victory in nearly eight years in downhill at the World Cup in St. Moritz on Dec. 12
- The Olympic skier was emotional on the podium after her win, and admitted she wasn't aware of her own speed
- Vonn's win marked her first since March 2018
At age 41, Lindsey Vonn doesn't show signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The Olympic skier sped through the downhill course to victory at the 2025-2026 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup to secure her first victory in nearly eight years on Friday, Dec. 12.
Vonn, whose win marked a first since her comeback from a five-year retirement, now with titanium implants in her right knee, won the race in St. Moritz, Switzerland by just 0.98 of a second.
Her win made history, as the oldest skier to nab a World Cup. Prior to Vonn's victory, the oldest woman to win was Italy’s Federica Brignone, at age 34 last season, and the oldest man was Switzerland’s Didier Cuche at 37 in men’s Super-G in 2012.
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Lindsey Vonn tops the podium at the World Cup on Dec. 12, 2025.After her win, Vonn — whose last World Cup victory was in March 2018 in Are, Sweden — was visibly emotional on the podium while celebrating her accomplishment.
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"It was an amazing day. I couldn't be happier, pretty emotional," the Olympic gold medalist told Swiss broadcaster RTS. "I felt good this summer, but I wasn't sure how fast I was. I guess I know now how fast I am."
Vonn's race at St. Mortiz on Friday marked the 125th time she's started a World Cup downhill race in her decorated career, and 24 years after her first at Lake Louise, Canada. She has 83 race victories across all World Cup disciplines.
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Lindsey Vonn competes in the women's downhill race at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026.During a press conference on Dec. 10, Vonn opened up about the ways she's prepared her body both on and off the slopes ahead of her return to the Olympics at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan in February.
"Physically I'm in possibly the best shape I've ever been in," she told media while in St. Moritz for the World Cup competition. "And my body doesn't hurt, so that's the best part of all."
Vonn, who has another downhill race on Saturday, Dec. 13, added that she was "thrilled" to add body mass ahead of this season.
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Lindsey Vonn of Team United States."My goal was to get a lot stronger this summer," she said during the press conference. "I was thinner than I would have liked last season. I didn't really have any time to prepare so I didn't have time to gain my mass back. I was still quite a bit lighter than I was when I was racing in my prime."
"I was able to gain about 12 pounds this summer, which I was thrilled about," she shared. "It took a lot of hard work. I was probably the most disciplined I've ever been with my diet and just how I approached the entire summer. I put everything I had into being as physically prepared as possible."
While looking ahead to the Winter Olympics, Vonn — who strives to compete in downhill, Super-G and the new team combined race — opened up about her confident mindset, while also highlighting how she's feeling physically.
"For my age, I feel pretty damn good," she said at the presser, two months out from the start of the Olympics. "I probably feel better now than I did before I tore my first ACL in 2013. So that was quite a long time ago."
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Category: General Sports
