Lindsey Vonn, the comback queen 20 years of greatness

Few athletes have careers as synonymous with determination as Lindsey Vonn. Over two decades, Vonn has climbed to the pinnacle of alpine skiing, leaving behind an unmatched legacy of accomplishments. As a Red Bull athlete for 20 years, her journey has been defined by iconic victories, groundbreaking achievements, and an unwavering partnership with the brand. Recently, she achieved the seemingly impossible: returning to competitive skiing six years after retirement and a partial knee replacement. But Vonn’s journey to the top wasn’t as smooth as her runs through the gates—it’s a story of grit, resilience, and a relentless drive to succeed.

Lindsey Vonn training for the FIS ski alpine world cup in Anton, Austria

The early years: From Buck Hill to olympic dreams

Lindsey is the first American to win a Super-G World Championship.

Vonn clicked into a pair of skis for the first time at just 3-years-old. Her home mountain in Minnesota could be described as more of an urban ski hill. Despite its humble stature, Buck Hill had certain champion-building amenities that other ski areas lacked. For one, the legendary ski coach Erich Sailer was hard at work turning young skiers like Vonn into world-class athletes with the help of a rope-tow that meant a full lap took only two minutes.

Vonn has skiing in her blood; her father, Alan Kildow, was former ski racer and three-time junior World Champion before a knee injury benched him. Recalled by her siblings for being as competitive as she was passionate for the sport, it was no surprise when a 9-year-old Vonn declared her intent to one day compete in the Olympics.

Lindsey is an absolute stud! What an incredible career she has had and she isn’t even close to done. I have had nothing but good times with LV and I’m a huge fan.

The highs and lows of a record-breaking career

The American skier’s determination and drive carried her over the next decade through the highs and lows of one of the most demanding, not to mention dangerous competitive sports.

Following her early successes, Vonn’s right knee took the first of many hits in Åre, Sweden, in 2007. After earning silver medals in downhill and super-G, Vonn crashed in practice ahead of the slalom race, spraining her right ACL and ending her season.

Vonn rehabbed her knee diligently and went on to win the overall World Cup title in 2008 and again in 2009, breaking the records for both the number of American World Cup victories and American World Cup wins in a single season, as well as becoming the first American woman to win the world super-G title while she was at it.

Lindsey Vonn wins the downhill, super-g & super combined world cup

The 2011-2012 winter season was one of the best of Vonn’s career. Throughout the season, she racked up a total of twelve World Cup wins across the downhill, super-G, giant slalom, and combined disciplines. Vonn became one of the only skiers to ever stand on top of the podium in every single discipline of Alpine racing and she earned her fourth Crystal Globe that season. Vonn had turned 30 ahead of the 2014-15 season; a fact that was reiterated continuously by the media as though it would somehow slow down a woman proving to be one of the greatest skiers of all time. In true Vonn fashion, she didn’t let the public’s opinion of her age stop her, and won four medals in super-G and another four in downhill that season. On January 15, 2015, Vonn took her 63rd World Cup victory of her career in Cortina, Italy, surpassing Anne-Marie Moser-Pröll for most World Cup wins ever.

Lindsey Vonn 2015 FIS Ski World Cup Champion, Super-G

During the 2015-16 season, Vonn saw another nine wins, her 38th victory in downhill, and her 20th Crystal Globe. It seemed that Vonn was once again unstoppable until a crash in Soldeu fractured her knee, ending her season early.

Vonn’s 2016-17 season saw a rocky beginning when she fractured her arm training in November of 2016, but she returned quickly to snow following the injury. During her second race back on the circuit in January 2017, Vonn won the downhill event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and went on to win a 7th World Championship medal in St. Mortiz in February. This was the win that brought Vonn’s career World Cup win tally to a whopping 82.

Vonn raced once at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. A crash in practice resulted in Vonn being heli-evaced to a hospital, where she was kept overnight. Against all odds, Vonn still competed two days later at the Winter Games and finished with top-ten rankings in downhill and slalom.

Vonn’s performance at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver is still considered one of the most impressive moments in her career. Following five consecutive wins in downhill and four more in super-G and combined, there was no question she’d dominate at the Games too. However, a week before the Games, Vonn injured her tibia in a crash. Just as it looked like she wouldn’t be able to compete, bad weather worked in her favor and postponed her races giving her enough time to recover. Vonn went on to win an Olympic gold medal in downhill at the Games and a bronze medal in super-G.

Vonn also competed in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang where she tied for 6th place in super-G and received a bronze medal in downhill.

Lindsey Vonn at FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup 2018 – 2019 in Cortina, Italy

In 2018, Vonn was at a pivotal moment in her career. The possibility of breaking legendary ski racer Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins loomed, but so did the damage to her body. Vonn suffered another knee injury in November of 2018. She decided to push through the season, despite having no LCL and sustaining nerve damage that caused muscles in her lower leg to shut down. Vonn decided that the 2018-19 season would be her last in competition.

The world watched as she competed in her final events, earning a bronze medal in downhill in Åre in 2019 before hanging up her skis. Despite not breaking Stenmark’s record, Vonn had cemented her own legacy as one of the most successful and impressive ski racers and athletes of all time.

Everyone loves a comeback

Throughout and following Vonn’s last season, she was in constant pain, even off the ski hill. In April of 2024, Vonn paid a visit to Dr. Martin Roche for a surgery that would replace the damaged parts of her knee with titanium alloy and polyethylene components in a partial-knee replacement.

In October of 2024, Vonn turned 40 and one month later, she announced her return to competitive skiing, six years after she’d retired. After months of testing the limits of her new knee on snow, Vonn was not only pain free in her day to day life, but confident her body could perform at the level she’d need to return to racing.

Vonn was met with criticism that didn’t just question her physical ability to race, but her sanity. A fellow ski racer suggested on Austrian TV that Vonn should see a psychologist. Another predicted she’d shred the new knee to pieces and theorized that Vonn’s return to competitive skiing meant she had no other purpose in life. Much of the coverage of Vonn’s return to sport focused on her age and her athletic ability and judgement was constantly called into question.

Lindsey Vonn during the Super G Race of FIS ski alpine world cup in Austria

Vonn once again entered a World Cup start gate in December of 2024 and finished 14th in the Super-G event in St. Moritz. In January of 2025, Vonn took 6th place in her first downhill race back, just 0.58 seconds behind the winner. The next day, she landed a 4th place spot in Super-G. In March, the final World Cup races of the season overtook the slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho. Vonn came in second place in Super-G, just 1.29 seconds behind Lara Gut-Berhami. The event marked Vonn’s 138th World Cup podium.

The helmet: A partnership built on greatness

Lindsey Vonn and Marcel Hirscher – Winning

Lindsey is an inspiration far beyond the world of skiing. She was the best, challenged by injuries and setbacks—and then she came back with all her love for ski racing.

Lindsey Vonn looking good in a Formula Renault car

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Lindsey Vonn Sailing With Oracle Team USA

Lindsey Vonn, The Red Bulletin 2018

Lindsey Vonn, The Red Bulletin 2014

Lindsey Vonn, The Red Bulletin 2012

Lindsey Vonn, The Red Bulletin 2009

Lindsey Vonn, The Red Bulletin 2008

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Lindsey Vonn: The Climb

After two devastating injuries, Lindsey Vonn is faced with the biggest challenge of her life. Can she recover and reclaim her place at the top of the competitive ski world?

Vonn‘s support extended beyond the slopes. She worked closely with Red Bull’s Athletes Special Projects team in Austria, where she focused on endurance training in Tyrol and at the state-of-the-art Red Bull soccer training center in Salzburg. These sessions were designed to push her physical limits and prepare her body for the rigors of competition—a testament to the brand’s dedication to helping their athletes achieve peak performance.

Fearlessly through the key sections of the Streif

Hirscher goes on to share “What an incredibly powerful message, what a statement. For people who are afraid to follow their hearts. For women who doubt themselves too much. I think Lindsey embodies what top-level sports can achieve for individuals and for society. And: her comeback also highlighted some difficult and darker aspects, especially within the ski community—the disrespect she faced as an athlete and as a woman in the beginning was shameful! What we should exemplify is respect, fair play, and appreciation. Instead, the opposite was projected onto Lindsey—and that bothered me immensely. Lindsey faced all the senseless hostility and pettiness with grace. She has absolutely no reason to question herself. Those who displayed and spread the negativity in the media, however, certainly do.”

Vonn’s Legacy and road to Milano 2026

As Milano 2026 approachs, Vonn has set her sights on competing for Team USA. While Vonn’s partial knee replacement was initially prompted by her desire to live a pain-free life; the surgical results have allowed her to return to the sport she loves most and challenge herself with goals like Milano 2026.

Her comeback has changed the narrative around retirement for professional athletes to replace the question of ‘should or should not’ as it pertains to the physical, with ‘how do we make this possible.’

Vonn’s return has also proved the unique opportunity for her teammates to learn from one of the greats, while competing alongside her. Devoid of the necessity to do so, Vonn has become a resource and mentor to younger athletes on the US Ski Team.

Lindsey Vonn‘s career revolutionized and paved a pathway for female skiers and athletes. The impact she’s had on the sport is not one likely to be touched in this millenia or the next.

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