"All of the things that were bothering me for so many years were suddenly gone" - Lindsey Vonn on considering skiing return after knee surgery

Lindsey Vonn talked about reconsidering skiing when her surgeries eliminated her pains, leading her to play tennis and other sports. Vonn will soon take the slopes as the forerunner at Beaver Creek, testing out the Super-G and downhill courses before the World Cup races scheduled for the weekend.

Vonn, the 82-time World Cup winner, and the third-most decorated alpine skier, drew a line to her storied career in 2019, citing persisting injuries. Functioning with several surgeries, Vonn underwent a partial knee replacement surgery in April 2024. Months later, she came out of her retirement after five years and vied for a spot in the World Cup circuit.

She rejoined the Stifel US Ski team and successfully raced lower-level Super-G and downhill events at Copper Mountain last weekend. She aims to earn eligibility for World Cup events, an opportunity FIS gave to the former World Champions. Ahead of testing the Super-G and downhill slopes at Beaver Creek, she sat in a conversation with the Today show, shedding light on the moment she planned her return to the profession.

"I don't know when I got on a surgery, I just felt so good and no more pain. All of the things that were bothering me for so many years were suddenly gone and I thought, okay well, if I feel this good, you know playing tennis and doing all the things I love, what about skiing?"

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Vonn revealed that her goal on the alpine skiing slope would be to have fun.

"Life is really short, and I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. “But I know what I’m going to do today — I’m going to have fun.”

In 2019, Lindsey Vonn last competed in the downhill and took bronze at the World Championships.

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Lindsey Vonn talked about competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina

Lindsey Vonn celebrating her downhill win in Cortina at Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Downhill - (Source: Getty)

In anticipation of the 2018 Winter Olympics, where Lindsey Vonn won the downhill bronze, she clinched her 12th record win in Cortina in the 2017/2018 World Cup season. Cut to 2024, as she was asked about her prospects of competing at the 2025 Milano-Cortina Winter Games, Vonn expressed uncertainty but reminisced about her track record in Cortina, saying:

"I mean, it didn't. It's definitely not a factor in what I'm doing now. I would say, you know, I think everyone knows how much I love Cortina. You did point out my record there. I have some, a couple of wins and, you know, if I can let's see what happens. But I don't want to put any expectations on it. Like I said, no one's done this before with the knee replacement. I am slightly older than I was before. I think I held all the records for being the oldest World Cup winner in when I was 33 years old. So I don't know. I don't want to put any expectations, but if I could, that would be amazing," Vonn said in the Today Show interview. (3:42)

Lindsey Vonn's World Cup win record was surpassed by Mikaela Shiffrin, who currently stands with 99 World Cup wins.