"The 41-year-old Team USA star, who had already had a decorated career when she retired in 2019, is now staging a comeback within a comeback: After launching out of retirement straight into the stratosphere of the World Cup downhill standings, the only thing more impressive would be if she can cap it all off with an Olympic medal barely a week after tearing her ACL."
"That Cortina is hosting the women's alpine events at the 2026 Olympics was a key motivator for Vonn, she told reporters last year. "If it had been anywhere else, I would probably say it's not worth it," she said in October. "But for me there's something special about Cortina that always pulls me back, and it's pulled me back one last time.""
"Vonn's comeback began with a partial knee replacement in 2024 that installed a titanium implant in her right knee. Before her ACL tear late last month at a race in Switzerland, Vonn's performance this season had left no room for debate. She was atop the FIS leaderboard with two World Cup wins, bringing her career total to 84, and five other podium finishes."
The Olympic women's downhill race begins at 11:30 a.m. on the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina. Lindsey Vonn, 41, is making a comeback and aims for an Olympic medal despite tearing her ACL about a week earlier. Cortina hosted Vonn's first World Cup podium and the victory that made her the winningest female skier, which contributed to her decision to return. Vonn underwent a partial knee replacement in 2024 with a titanium implant and led the FIS downhill standings with two World Cup wins, 84 career victories, and five other podiums. Breezy Johnson, 30, is also a U.S. medal contender.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]