Lindsey Vonn reacts to support from fellow skiers as she continues comeback season at 40

Lindsey Vonn expressed her thoughts as she reacted to receiving massive support from her peers in her comeback season. The American athlete came out of retirement nearly after six years at the age of 40 to compete in the professional Alpine skiing circuit again.

As Vonn announced her decision to compete professionally again after undergoing a partial knee replacement surgery, she received great support from fans who expressed their excitement to witness her compete again. However, several prominent retired Alpine skiers like Pirmin Zurbriggen, Bruno Kernen, and Franz Klammer criticized her decision to return to the slopes.

The American Alpine skier took to Instagram to address the criticism and found support from fellow Alpine skiers who were in a similar position in their career where they were battling injuries and aiming for a comeback. One such skier is Marcel Hirscher, who expressed his thoughts on Vonn's comeback and said:

“It is very unfair. I can’t understand those messages. Because for me, it is just inspiring. Lindsey showed us if you have a big dream, it doesn’t matter how huge the steps are. That has to be taken. Lindsey showed us you can achieve this.”

Furthermore, Dave Ryding and Chemmy Alcott lauded the American Alpine skier for making the brave decision to return to the slopes again. Lindsey Vonn took to X to react to the support and expressed her gratitude.

"This means a lot 🙏🏻🥹," she wrote.

Lindsey Vonn opens up about facing criticism for her decision to return to professional skiing

Lindsey Vonn during a press conference amid Preparation for the Alpine World Ski Championships - Source: Getty

Lindsey Vonn expressed her thoughts about facing criticism due to her decision to return to the slopes. The American skier addressed the claims of her taking more risks than she should have as she had recently undergone a partial knee replacement surgery.

“I think that’s something that bothers me – is that people think that I’m taking more risks than anyone else. But I know downhill probably better than almost anyone out there,” she said.

Vonn claimed she had consulted some of the best doctors, who had cleared her to compete this season.

“Things haven’t changed now that I’ve had a knee replacement. My doctors have cleared me. They are very confident in what I’m doing. I wouldn’t be doing it if it was a reckless idea. I think a lot of people have a lot of wild ideas about how crazy it is what I’m doing, but I’m not a dumb person. I’ve talked to the best doctors in the world, and they’ve cleared me to do this,” she added.

The former World Cup Champion expressed her excitement to compete again and hoped to put in a great performance this season.