Lindsey Vonn Beaver Creek BOP photo: Meredith Guinan
Approaching her first World Cup race in nearly six years, Lindsey Vonn is back in her happy place. The 40-year-old feels stronger and better prepared to race than ever before.
All smiles during last weekend’s women’s World Cup races at Beaver Creek—though she would have much rather been racing than forerunning—the 40-year-old speed queen buzzed with excitement at the prospect of returning to St. Moritz, Switzerland, this weekend, where she’ll compete in two World Cup super Gs.
“I’m in the mindset. I’m in the zone,” Vonn said Sunday after forerunning the Beaver Creek super G, where she estimated she gave about 90 percent effort. “I have the butterflies of excitement. I love that feeling.”
After Sunday’s race, Vonn traveled to St. Moritz as early as possible to prepare. She admitted she conserved energy at Beaver Creek by skipping her usual early morning agility workout.
“I am 40,” she joked. “I’ve got to conserve my energy.”
No Longer Fighting Through Pain
In spite of her age, Vonn said she legitimately feels stronger and more capable now than she did for many years of her career, when she was almost constantly recovering from injuries and struggling through pain.
“I was in survival mode the last years of my career,” she said. “Almost every prep period, I got some sort of injury, some sort of setback. I never got a full prep period. I was in the same pair of boots for five years because I never had the time to test. Now my equipment setup is more stable. I’m stronger. I don’t think about my knee. I think about how I’m going to execute the race. That’s a totally different mindset than I was in before.”
In addition to competing in a series of FIS races at Copper Mountain to earn back her qualifying status for the World Cup, Vonn has spent the last few weeks dialing in her equipment and feels especially ready for super G.
“I started doing super G the third day on snow. I was right on rhythm. It felt natural, as it should,” she said. “I think the hardest thing has just been to try to get my equipment dialed in. The boots are new. It’s a completely different model than I raced with. I have a new technician. Fundamentally, I’m in a great place, and now it’s just fine-tuning to be able to be truly competitive.”
More Women Racing Into Their Mid-30s
When Vonn retired after the 2018 World Championships at age 33, she was the oldest woman in alpine skiing to ever win a World Championship medal. Although coming back at age 40 is unprecedented, a handful of top female athletes are competing at an older age. Italian Federica Brignone, not only a perennial contender in speed events but also in giant slalom, is 34, as is Slovenian speed queen Ilka Stuhec.
Swiss multi-discipline contender Lara Gut-Behrami won the World Cup overall globe last season at age 33 and does not appear to be slowing down whatsoever.
“In the end, the last years of my career will be the ones I keep in my mind,” Gut-Behrami said after finishing on the podium in both opening speed races at Beaver Creek. “I’m trying to enjoy what I’m doing even more. I’m also lucky that I’m healthy, that I can still ski as I want.”
Stuhec’s career, like Vonn’s, has been mired with injuries. Nonetheless, she has always returned to find the podium, albeit less consistently than in the past. She said while she continues to perform well, she will keep going.
“As long as I feel I can still send it, I love it and still plan to do it for a while,” she said. “But definitely, once I’m done, I’m done.”
Brignone said she actually feels stronger now than she did 10 years ago but agrees that once she stops, she’s not coming back.
“My body is better every year,” she said. “I am stronger, for sure. I am mentally more stable, and I can control things and emotions more. So, I’m in a place where I’m having fun. I really want to do this still, but once it’s over, it’s over. I want to have a family. There’s still a lot of things that I want to do in my life.”
“She’s Lindsey Vonn”
As for Vonn’s return and capability to get back on the podium, Brignone is not counting her out.
“In this sport, everything is possible,” Brignone said. “And she’s Lindsey Vonn. She has been out for five years, so I don’t expect her to come back and win right away. I expect her to fight and to get better and better during the season.”
Vonn has made it clear that she’s not coming back simply to earn participation points.
“When I’m focused on something, I have no problem working 110 percent to get to my goal,” Vonn said. “I don’t just whimsically rejoin the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. It took a lot of steps and a lot of very hard work. I never stopped believing in myself. I never have my whole life, and I’m not going to stop now.”
With four World Cup overall globes to her name—eight downhill and five super G—Vonn is also not afraid to be a trailblazer.
“I’m not the first person to [return after retiring], but maybe I’m the first woman to do it in ski racing,” she said. “Simone Biles is a perfect example of what can be done at an older age, and she’s not even old. It’s just outside the confines of what we believe is the right age for the sport. I think mostly for women, they retire because they want to start a family. It’s not the same life pressures as men. There are many male ski racers who have been very successful, won World Championship medals and Olympic medals at 42, 43 years old. It’s not like it’s not possible; it just hasn’t been done. I don’t think I’m reinventing the wheel. I’m just doing what I feel is right for me.”
As Lindsey Vonn prepares to return to World Cup racing, all eyes will be on St. Moritz this weekend to see if the speed queen can make history once again.
About the Author: Shauna Farnell
