The naysayers may have just been silenced.
During a pair of World Cup races in St. Anton, Austria, Lindsey Vonn—during her return to ski racing after a multi-year hiatus—claimed 6th place and 4th place.
Vonn earned the 6th place finish during Saturday’s downhill race. Downhill is her preferred discipline—she holds a record 43 wins in the event.
“That was fun,” Vonn told broadcaster Eurosport after the race. “I still made a couple of mistakes, I know I can be faster.
Photo: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
On Sunday, Vonn schussed into fourth in the Super G, just behind Federica Brignone, Stephanie Venier, and Lauren Macuga. For Macuga, a 22-year-old American racer, it was her career first World Cup win. With her and Vonn finishing in the top five, the day marked a cause for celebration for the U.S. Ski Team.
“I can’t believe it, this is so exciting!” said Macuga in a U.S. Ski Team press release. “I don’t think anything has settled in. I am waiting for it to hit me. This is something I have been dreaming about forever.”
“It’s great to see another American on top of the podium,” added Vonn.
Photo: Joe Klamar/Getty Images
Vonn, now 40, retired from ski racing in 2019 after earning bronze in that year’s World Championships downhill event.
Then, this past November, amidst swirling comeback rumors, the decorated American athlete announced that she would return to competition after undergoing partial knee replacement surgery. Vonn planned to take advantage of an International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) wildcard rule that allows former champions to re-enter the World Cup.
The decision drew derision from some former ski racers.
Pirmin Zurbriggen told Swiss outlet Blick that “there is a risk that Vonn will tear her artificial knee to pieces. And in such a way that she will never be able to do any sport properly for the rest of her life.” Franz Klammer chose harsher language, saying that Vonn had “gone completely mad.”
“You know, I’m getting pretty tired of people predicting negative things about my future. It’s enough now,” Vonn replied to the naysayers in a comment on X. “Did they all become doctors and I missed it, because they talk like they know more than the best doctors in the world.”
With a 14th place finish, a 6th place finish, and a 4th place finish now under her belt so far this season, it seems that Vonn’s doctors were, indeed, the ones to listen to.
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