Lindsey Vonn’s journey in Olympic skiing was thought to have concluded years ago. After clinching a bronze medal in the downhill event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang—on a slope that has since vanished—the American skiing icon was expected to retire gracefully, adding another achievement to her illustrious career.

Yet, when Vonn revealed her plans for a comeback at the age of 40, many were skeptical. Could the Minnesota-born athlete really compete with the younger generation on the slopes? More importantly, could her body withstand the rigorous demands of alpine skiing long enough to even come close to qualifying for another Olympic appearance?

In just five races, Vonn has silenced the doubters. The skier who once took home gold in Vancouver is set to once again don the Olympic rings.

After a summer dedicated to intense physical training, transforming her physique into an alpine powerhouse, Vonn has earned enough points to secure her place at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. This February, she will make her fifth Olympic appearance at Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy.

After a summer of intense training to hone her body back into an alpine torpedo, Vonn has accumulated enough points to book a ticket to her fifth Winter Olympic Games this February at Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy.

Vonn hadn’t won on the World Cup since a trip to Åre in Sweden in 2018. In her first event of the 2025-26 season, she beat Austria’s Magdalena Egger on the slopes of St. Moritz to take the downhill crown and become the oldest World Cup winner ever.

American ski icon Lindsey Vonn has secured her place at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy

Vonn won her first event in seven years in the downhill at St. Moritz just weeks ago

Her foot has stayed on the gas pedal and she’s now climbed to the top of the standings in the downhill – officially confirming her entry to the games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo

The next day, she finished second in the downhill. Then fourth in the Super-G the day after that. A jaunt to Val d’Isere in France yielded a pair of third-place finishes in the downhill and the Super-G.

It was enough. Olympic qualifying grants places to anyone who wears the red bib as the FIS points leader in any of the four disciplines (Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, and Slalom).

Vonn’s downhill prowess has her firmly ahead of second-place skier Emma Aicher by nearly 70 points. Her comeback is now complete.

‘What I did wasn’t easy,’ Vonn told SKI Magazine in a reflection of her career. ‘There aren’t words to quantify how hard it was for as long as I did it.’

When she retired in 2019, Vonn had spent decades in the American sporting consciousness as possibly the greatest the country could ever produce. 

Off the slope, Vonn gained fame through her work as a model, endorsements from the likes of Rolex and Red Bull, and her high-profile dating endeavors with the likes of Tiger Woods and hockey star PK Subban.

But injuries began to pile up. She capped off her final season without winning gold at a World Cup event and seemed set for a life out of the competitive sphere until announcing her comeback in 2024. 

Throughout her 2024-25 season, Vonn suffered multiple DNF’s. When she did complete races, the results often lacked that characteristic dominance worthy of a woman who retired as the all-time winningest woman on the slopes (she has since been passed by countrywoman Mikaela Shiffrin).

Vonn is one of the most dominant skiers America ever produced and became an off-piste icon

Her endorsements, modeling career and high-profile relationships with the likes of Tiger Woods kept her in the public consciousness long after the Olympics came and went 

But at age 40, she committed to a comeback – making one podium last season in Idaho (above)

The height of her comeback year came in Idaho when she finished second in the Super-G for the season final. 

It was a strong start for Vonn. To be away from the sport for five seasons and then choosing to return at 40 was admirable. But to return to the Olympics required a level of dominance beyond what she showed.

The real work began in the preseason. Vonn said she got into ‘possibly the best shape I’ve ever been in’ adding, ‘My body doesn’t hurt, so that’s the best part of all.’

For months, she committed to re-building the strength she felt she lacked in her 2024-25 return season.

‘My goal was to get a lot stronger this summer,’ she said. ‘I was thinner than I would have liked last season. I was still quite a bit lighter than I was when I was racing in my prime.’

However, after ‘a lot of hard work’, Vonn says she was ‘able to gain about 12 pounds’ over her offseason.

‘I was probably the most disciplined I’ve ever been with my diet and just how I approached the entire summer,’ said the three-time Olympic medalist.

‘I put everything I had into being as physically prepared as possible.’

To realize her dream of an Olympic comeback, Vonn pushed herself in preseason training

That push has led to strong results in the downhill and the Super-G across five races

Vonn has made the podium in four of those races, truly marking the return of the Speed Queen

Now, Vonn’s sights can be set to becoming the oldest skier in Olympic history to win a medal

Determined to reach a fifth games, Vonn’s intense summer produced the necessary results. In St. Mortiz, her win in the downhill came almost a full second ahead of Egger. The only race she hasn’t finished on the podium came after she finished just 0.08 seconds behind Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

There will be further tests: Zauchensee in Austria, Tarvisio in Italy and a return to Switzerland at Crans-Montana.

But Vonn’s dream of an Olympic comeback is secured. Now, she goes to a race course where she’s won 11 times in her accomplished career.

There’s even further glory to be had in Italy. If she finishes atop the podium, Vonn will become the oldest alpine skier – man or woman – in history to win an Olympic medal.

But in a sport that is as elements-dependent as alpine skiing, nothing is certain. 

‘You could get one gust of wind and your Olympic dreams are over,’ Vonn told SKI Magazine. ‘It’s not easy to win when you’re expected to win. 

‘But I will do the best I can with the cards that I’m dealt, and hopefully I’ll get a little luck.’