Lindsey Vonn fires back at critics after making first podium on comeback at 40

Lindsey Vonn fired back at her critics after making the first podium since her return to the skiing in December last year. It was likely the last race of her season, and in front of her home crowd, making the victory even more special.

Vonn had yet to make a podium since her return and suffered multiple crashes on the way to her victory in Sun Valley, Idaho, on March 23. The downhill race at the venue was canceled the previous day, and skiing in her last race of the season, Vonn finished 1.29 seconds behind Lara Gut-Behrami for second place.

The 2010 Olympic champion became the oldest women's skier to make a World Cup podium and claimed she had believed in herself all along, and the criticism had only fueled her. Vonn called her doubters, saying:

“I usually do better when the pressure’s higher,” Vonn said on NBC Sports. “It’s the last race of the season. I just put it all on the line. This is the level that I know I can ski. I know I can even do better than that. It’s been a rough season of people saying that I can’t, that I’m too old, that I’m not good enough anymore. I think I proved everyone wrong.”

It was the American's 13th World Cup race of the season, and securing the podium has thrown some momentum behind her campaign for the Milan Cortina Olympics.

“Today meant everything to me,” said Lindsey Vonn, whose 12 career World Cup wins at Cortina are a record for the venue. “This is the road now to Cortina next year.”

Vonn stunned the world of skiing this season after making a competitive return to World Cup racing after a nearly six-year absence. After a partial knee replacement in April 2024, Vonn said she no longer felt the pain in her knees, eventually allowing her to make a comeback.

However, barring a few notable performances, she had looked like a shadow of her past self before getting it together in Sun Valley.

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Comeback season was only "a test run" for Lindsey Vonn

Lindsey Vonn during Alpine Ski World Cup - Source: Getty

While Lindsey Vonn has struggled this season, barring today's historic podium, she considers the first year of her comeback "a test run and a trial run to see what I can do,” as she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

She confirmed that her ultimate goal was to do something special at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and then go back to enjoying retirement.

“These Olympics, it’s all I really wanted to do, Cortina is one of my favorite places, so that’s the carrot that was dangling in front of me, as soon as that’s gone, then I can go back to skiing some powder and playing tennis and living the life that I’ve been living for the last six years,” Lindsey Vonn added.

Vonn is one of the greatest ski racers of all time with 82 World Cup wins and three Olympic medals, including a gold medal to her name. Her World Cup podium count has now improved to 138, tying her for third-most in history.