Was it enough to qualify her for the 2026 Olympics? Here’s how Vonn can make her fifth Olympic team.
Four-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn won the World Cup downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Friday — her first since coming out of retirement last year.
The victory made the 41-year-old Vonn the oldest male or female to win an FIS World Cup, according to FIS. It’s the 83rd World Cup win of Vonn’s career.
To celebrate her win, Vonn, who made her Olympic debut at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, called her dad.
“I just called my dad, he was crying so hard, I’ve never heard him so emotional in my whole life, it made me cry too,” Vonn told FIS. “The win means so much to me. I knew in the summer I was on the right path, and all the hard work has paid off.”
Vonn spoked to Swiss broadcaster RTS following the win — her first World Cup win in eight years — and said she “couldn’t be happier,” per The Associated Press.
“It was an amazing day. I couldn’t be happier, pretty emotional,” Vonn said. “I felt good this summer, but I wasn’t sure how fast I was. I guess I know now how fast I am.”
While standing on the podium, Vonn cried as The Star-Spangled Banner played over the speakers.
What it means 🥲👏
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) December 12, 2025
Lindsey Vonn returns to the top step of a World Cup podium for the first time in seven years in St. Moritz 🥇🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HJUfq7qhZH
Despite trailing by 0.61 seconds through the first two time checks on Friday, Vonn finished with a 1.16 second lead, which was later cut to 0.98 seconds by runner-up Magdalena Egger, per AP.
Lindsey Vonn takes a HUGE lead after a stunning downhill run in St Moritz! 🤩🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mXnfagePrQ
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) December 12, 2025
The Olympic gold medalist will race in another downhill event on Saturday and in the super-G on Sunday.
“I’m just going to try to get some sleep tonight. I know what to do tomorrow. I skied my plan, and I’m actually really excited for super-G because I’m skiing better in super-G than in Downhill,” she said, per FIS.
Vonn retired from professional skiing in 2019 following several knee injuries.
Five years later, she announced she was coming out of retirement in November 2024 after undergoing a partial knee surgery eight months prior, as the Deseret News previously reported.
“Obviously my goal is Cortina, but if this is the way we start, I think I’m in a good spot,” Vonn said Friday, per AP.
Has Lindsey Vonn qualified for the 2026 Olympics?
Vonn’s victory Friday does not automatically put her on the U.S.’s alpine team for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
U.S. Ski and Snowboard will nominate its selections for the team on or before Jan. 20, 2026, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboard selection criteria.
But as a result of Friday’s win, Vonn does meet the selection criteria.
Making the 2026 Olympic team would allow Vonn to finish her career in Cortina, where she has won 12 World Cup races, per AP.
How can Lindsey Vonn qualify for the 2026 Olympics?
Athletes will be nominated for the team through three methods in the following order: best World Cup results in selection events, discretionary selection and best European Cup results in selection events.
Under the first selection method, “up to three (3) athletes per gender in each individual discipline will be nominated to the Team based solely upon their individual World Cup results at an Evaluation Event,” per U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
Athletes can be nominated to the team by meeting the following criteria in the order below for a single discipline “until a maximum of three (3) athletes are nominated per discipline per gender”:
- At least one top three result in a FIS World Cup.
- At least one top five result in a FIS World Cup.
- At least one top 10 result in a FIS World Cup.
- At least one top 20 result in a FIS World Cup.
If there are remaining quota spots, those can be filled by the second method of discretionary selection by nominating athletes who “have demonstrated previous medal capable results” or for team composition by “fielding the best alpine athlete(s) with medal capability, future medal capability and/or nominating athletes who can achieve the best results at the Games.”
U.S. Ski and Snowboarding defines a medal-capable athlete as “an athlete who has had a Top 30 World Cup/World Championship result or a Top 3 European Cup result in the evaluative events,” which Vonn achieved on Friday.
Category: General Sports
