Lindsey Vonn wins the downhill World Cup at age 41 and achieves her first victory in almost 8 years

The queen of alpine skiing is back. At 41 years old, still faster than the rest.

Lindsey Vonn He scored a surprisingly quick win in a World Cup downhill in St. Moritz on Friday to earn his first victory in almost eight years, and his first in his return with titanium implants in his right knee after a five-year retirement.

Several top rivals, including overall World Cup champions Federica Brignone and Lara Gut-Behrami, Olympic champion Corinne Suter and up-and-coming American Lauren Macuga, did not race Friday due to injuries.

Vonn took the lead with a surprising lead of 1.16 seconds over Austria’s Mirjam Puchner. Even more surprising was that Vonn trailed by 0.61 after the first two time controls at the Swiss station.

The great skier’s lead was later reduced to 0.98 (still a huge margin in downhill) when the unknown Magdalena Egger took second place from her teammate Puchner.

“It was an incredible day, I couldn’t be happier and very excited,” Vonn told Swiss broadcaster RTS. “I felt good this summer, but I wasn’t sure how fast I was. I guess now I know how fast I am.”

Shortly after, Vonn shed tears on the podium in the finish area as The Star-Spangled Banner played.

It was a perfect start to her Olympic season as she earned her first win since a relegation in March 2018 in Are, Sweden.

Vonn’s superb debut working with new coach Aksel Lund Svindal, a men’s downhill great who won the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics title, suggests their stellar partnership is paying off.

His Friday race seemed routine when he lost tenths of a second to Puchner’s time in the upper half of the sunny Corviglia course, where the finish line is at an altitude of more than 6,500 feet.

Vonn then went faster than anyone else in the following speed checks, reaching 74 miles per hour, and posted the fastest times in the bottom half.

He skied through the finish area and hit the inflated safety barrier, lay down in the snow and raised his arms as he checked his time. Vonn stood up, punched the air with her right fist and screamed in joy before cupping her left cheek in the style of Steph Curry’s “Night, Night” gesture.

olympic goals

The 2010 Olympic champion aims for another gold medal in the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February. Women’s alpine skiing takes place at the historic Cortina d’Ampezzo course in the Dolomites, which Vonn has dominated throughout her career with 12 World Cup race victories.

“Obviously my goal is Cortina, but if that’s how we start I think I’m in a good place,” said Vonn, who will be the favorite for another downhill win on Saturday in St. Moritz.

vonn he told News Sunday morning earlier this year that he “never thought” he would talk about going to the Olympics again. Just talking about traveling to Italy means “you’re already winning,” he said.

“I’ll be at a disadvantage,” Vonn said. “I’m 40, and by this time next year I’ll be 41. But I know my skiing is there. I think I’m actually skiing better now than I was the last few years of my career.”

Vonn said the younger skiers on the U.S. team welcomed her and made fun of her.

“There’s a girl who calls me grandma, which I don’t exactly appreciate!” vonn said. “But there’s definitely some jokes on the team that, you know, I ran in my first Olympics before one of the girls was born.”

44 victories in 24 years

Friday’s race was Vonn’s 125th World Cup downhill start in her storied career, 24 years after her first in Lake Louise, Canada.

He has now won a record 44 of them, including St. Moritz in 2012, and has 83 race wins across all World Cup disciplines.

Her previous victory in Are came weeks after Vonn took bronze in downhill at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, won by Sofia Goggia, who placed fourth on Friday. Those Olympics were Vonn’s fourth and the last she attended.

He also won gold in downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2009 world championships in Val d’Isère, France.

Such is Vonn’s dominance in downhill, she has more World Cup wins in the fastest discipline than the 60 other riders combined who started on Friday, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation said.

A series of serious injuries this year deprived overall World Cup winners Federica Brignone and Lara Gut-Behrami, Olympic champion Corinne Suter and up-and-coming American Lauren Macuga from Friday’s race.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Michelle Gisin underwent back surgery on Thursday after suffering a bad fall in a training run on the fastest part of the St. Moritz circuit.

“I’m so sorry for Michelle, but that’s ski racing,” Vonn said.