Even as she racked up strong finishes, Lindsey Vonn spent much of her unlikely comeback season a year ago saying she still needed time to get used to her equipment and get back in shape for the grind of World Cup Alpine ski racing. There were better things ahead, she said.
No one can doubt it now.
The American Alpine legend, at 41, became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, taking the top spot Friday in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in the first downhill race of a season that is building toward the 2026 Olympics.
Starting 17th, Vonn opened slowly and then tore through the final sections of the course, winning in 1 minute, 29.63 seconds and turning hope into proof that she can contend for another Olympic medal before she retires again.
Two Austrians rounded out the podium. Magdalena Egger was the only skier within a second of Vonn, 0.98 behind. Mirjam Puchner finished third, 1.16 seconds behind.
On a picturesque sunny day in St. Moritz, most of the top early skiers posted similar times. A little more than a half-second separated first from seventh when Vonn stepped up to the starting gate, almost one year to the day since she made her return to World Cup skiing after more than five years away — and on the same slope.
Vonn obliterated them all, finishing more than 1.1 seconds better than the previous racers. About halfway down the mountain, she had shaken off that slow start and was on pace to lead, drawing audible gasps from the crowd. When she crossed the finish line, she slid to a stop against the wall, fell to the snow and shrieked in joy.
“In my mind, I was thinking, ‘OK, well, I just need to ski the pitch really clean and carry my speed down,’” Vonn said of the run. “I still didn’t ski the best that I could’ve on the compression at the bottom, but I tried to be dynamic, tried to be clean, the way I’ve been skiing and training, and it was pretty solid.”
Vonn credited her offseason preparation, including hiring new coach Aksel Lund Svindal, a 36-time World Cup winner during his racing career.
“We worked really hard, not just me but my whole team, from the equipment to the physical training, also hired Aksel,” she said. “… I knew I was skiing fast, but you never know until the first race. I think I was a little faster than I expected. I think I had a great run, but I also made some mistakes, so I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Saturday brings another downhill race, followed by a super-G on Sunday. And Vonn is already thinking about more podium finishes.
“I’m actually really excited for super-G,” she said, “because I’m skiing better in super-G than I am in downhill.”
Many of the sport’s top names were looking up the leaderboard at Vonn. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, a 19-time World Cup downhill winner, finished fourth, 1.31 seconds back. Emma Aicher, the 22-year-old German who broke out last season with two World Cup wins, finished fifth. Nine-time winner and 2024 downhill season champion Cornellia Hütter of Austria was sixth.
Breezy Johnson, who won the downhill world title in February, was the second-best American finisher in 15th, with teammates Isabella Wright (16th) and Jacqueline Wiles (18th) right behind, all just over two seconds off Vonn’s pace.
It’s the 83rd World Cup win — third all-time, men or women — in a decorated career that also includes Olympic gold and eight world championship medals, and her first top-circuit victory since March 2018. American Mikaela Shiffrin has the most World Cup wins, with 104 and counting. Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark is the men’s all-time leader with 86.
Italian great Federica Brignone — who is recovering from injury and not racing this weekend — was the previous oldest woman to win a World Cup race, a mark she reset several times last season with 10 race victories at age 34. Brignone was the downhill and overall World Cup champion in 2024-25.
Vonn skis in the downhill Friday in St. Moritz, Switzerland. At 41, the American became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race. (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images)
For Vonn, Friday was the first race of what she’s said will be her final season following her unlikely comeback to the sport last winter. Vonn retired in 2019 as mounting injuries took their toll, but a knee replacement in 2024 left her pain-free and planning a return to the sport she left five years earlier as the winningest women’s Alpine skier of all time.
She returned to competition last December, skiing in a second-tier event in Colorado to earn the necessary points to return to the World Cup circuit as a wild card. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) — the sport’s governing body — provides retired skiers who have earned a minimum number of points while also achieving certain benchmarks in the past, such as winning Olympic or world championship gold medals, a fast track back to World Cup racing.
A week later, also in St. Moritz, she skied her first top-circuit race since February 2019, finishing 14th in the downhill.
In total, she had four top-10 finishes in 13 World Cup races last season, capped by a second-place run in the super-G at the season-ending World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, in March — her first World Cup podium in seven years and the 138th of her career. Now, it’s two consecutive podiums, including a win, for Vonn.
As “The Star-Spangled Banner” played while she stood atop the podium Friday, Vonn shed a few tears, the moment hitting her, then did the customary champagne spray with the other top finishers. In less than two months, on Feb. 8, the Alpine skiing competition will begin at the 2026 Olympics. Vonn has suddenly gone from a medal long shot to one of the favorites.
Oh, and it’s in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, where Vonn has won 12 times on the World Cup tour — more than anyone in the sport’s history.
