Vonn's madness continues: 41-year-old dominates in Zauchensee

Ski superstar Lindsey Vonn has made another statement just under a month before the opening of the Winter Olympics.

10 January 2026

From: dpa/am

The 41-year-old American celebrated her second victory of the season on Saturday in the downhill race in Zauchensee, Austria. Vonn relegated Norway's Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (+0,37 seconds) and her US teammate Jacqueline Wiles (+0,48) to second and third place, respectively. Exactly ten years ago, the former speed queen celebrated her last victory in Zauchensee.

For Vonn, this is the 84th World Cup victory of her career and already her fifth podium finish in six starts this winter. Only in the Super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in mid-December did she narrowly miss the podium, finishing fourth. Vonn ended her career in 2019 but returned in the fall of 2024 with a partial knee replacement. Last season, she reached the podium again for the first time, finishing second in the final race in Sun Valley, and this season she finally celebrated her winning comeback on December 12th in the downhill in St. Moritz.

Lindsey Vonn was unbeatable. © ANSA / CHRISTIAN BRUNA

With the Winter Games in mind, Vonn is increasingly becoming the favorite. The 2010 Olympic champion is determined to compete for gold again in Cortina d'Ampezzo. She can gain further momentum in the Super-G in Zauchensee on Sunday.

Nicol Delago from Wolkenstein made it into the top ten. She was the best Italian, finishing ninth, 0,74 seconds behind Vonn, thus equaling her best result of the season so far. Her sister Nadia finished in 18th place. Sara Thaler from St. Ulrich achieved her best World Cup result to date, finishing 23rd.

Sara Thaler achieved her best World Cup result to date. © ANSA / CHRISTIAN BRUNA

There were some scary moments during the downhill race involving Austrian local favorite Magdalena Egger. She crashed heavily and had to be airlifted by helicopter, which led to a lengthy interruption.

Magdalena Egger had to be airlifted by helicopter. © ANSA / CHRISTIAN BRUNA

The race on the Kälberloch course was significantly shortened due to the weather. Snowfall in recent days had already disrupted the organizers' plans.

Keywords Winter sports Alpine skiing World Cup