Lindsey Vonn makes her comeback. © APA / CHRISTIAN PETERSEN

St. Moritz: All eyes on Lindsey Vonn

All eyes are on Lindsey Vonn in the Alpine Skiing Women’s Super-G double this weekend.

20 December 2024

From: apa

Almost six years or 2.127 days after her retirement, the former speed queen is returning to the World Cup in the sophisticated town of St. Moritz. At 40 years old, the American is determined to push the boundaries. A partial knee replacement lets her dream.

The last of her 82 World Cup victories was quite a long time ago (2018), but the charisma of the woman with the two fluffy faux fur pompoms on her hat as her trademark has remained. Never have second-class FIS races and the start of a forerunner attracted as much attention as the recent one in North America. Never has a comeback been so polarizing.

Vonn had to stress like a mantra that she had really thought about her return. On social media, she came out in self-defense after some underhanded comments from former competitors and former skiing greats. It seemed to her as if an amateur doctor appeared around every corner. Specialists, however, have little concern that her partially artificial knee might not hold up.

Vonn "patched up again"

The competition is already wondering because Vonn claims to have gotten rid of her chronic pain. "When I retired, I just couldn't do it anymore physically. That has changed, my body is patched up again. Now I can do it again, so I want to do it again," said Vonn. She is not afraid to give 110 percent like she used to. She is believed to be capable of increasing the record as the oldest podium rider by six years - probably not immediately, but later in the season. This is supported by the fact that Vonn would have already made it into the top 10 in the downhill in Beaver Creek if timed by hand.

Lindsey Vonn makes her comeback. © APA/afp / JASON CONNOLLY

Marcel Hirscher is the second living skiing legend to return to the World Cup at the start of the season after years of sporting retirement. The 35-year-old former dominator learned the pitfalls of the undertaking after the third race and a 23rd place in Sölden as the best result on the painful tour with a torn cruciate ligament. Vonn is not thinking of a "pleasure project" for the sake of skiing, as Hirscher said. It is intended to be more than a PR coup, and that is something you can believe. "Taking part is not my goal. My plan is quite clear: to get back to where I was before," Vonn clarified. "This titanium part in the knee works quite well."