Lindsay Vonn Wins Downhill at St. Moritz, Eyes Return to Olympics at Age 41

Here’s a reminder that the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy are less than two months away. And one of the Alpine skiers we will probably be seeing is a familiar face who is making a comeback.

Lindsay Vonn first competed in the Olympics as a 17 year old at the 2002 Salt Lake City games. She did not win a medal in those games, or in the 2006 games in Turin, Italy. She won Gold in the Downhill and bronze in the Super G at Vancouver in 2010, but missed the 2014 Games due to injury. She was back for the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she won Bronze in the downhill. Vonn, who was battling more knee injuries, retired after the 2019 season. During her career, she had won 82 World Cup ski races, and four World Cup overall championships.

However, after knee replacement surgery, Vonn returned to the World Cup circuit in the 2024-25 season. She finished 2nd in the Super G in the season finale at Sun Valley, Idaho on March 23rd, 2025, her first time on the podium since 2018.

Now in the 2025-26 season, Vonn showed she’s all the way back. On December 12th at St. Moritz, Switzerland, she won the Downhill for her 83rd career World Cup victory. At 41, she’s the oldest woman to win a World Cup race.

So far, only Mikaela Shiffrin has officially qualified for the 2026 U.S. Olympic Alpine Ski Team, doing so after winning the first three World Cup slaloms of the season. Qualification for the team is mostly based on World Cup results, so Vonn has secured a really got shot at making the team. The full Alpine team will be finalized in January 2026.