Lindsey Vonn becomes oldest World Cup winner to continue remarkable comeback with dominant downhill victory

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Lindsey Vonn continued her remarkable comeback to alpine skiing by dominating the opening downhill of the season to become the oldest winner of a World Cup event.

Vonn, 41, beat the rest of the field by nearly a second in St Moritz to secure her 83rd World Cup win and first since 2018.

The American came out of retirement last December having undergone surgery to relieve the knee pain that had ended her career in 2019, and is targeting a tilt at a second Olympic gold medal in Milan-Cortina in February.

Vonn triumphed in the downhill in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics and her performance in Switzerland will raise hopes she can contend to at least medal again.

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Lindsey Vonn returned to World Cup skiing last year (AFP via Getty Images)

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

“Obviously my goal is Cortina but if this is the way we start I think I’m in a good spot.”

Vonn won by a margin of +0.98s over Magdalena Egger of Austria, with Mirjam Puchner third. Sofia Goggia of Italy finished fourth.

The previous oldest female winner of a World Cup race was Federica Brignone, who was 34 when she won a super-G in La Thuile in March. The Italian is facing a race against time to be fit for her home Winter Olympics after suffering serious leg injuries, including a torn ACL, in a giant slalom crash at the national championships in April.

Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, a rival to Vonn in the speed events, will miss the Games after suffering a season-ending knee injury.