Nearly six years after her retirement, American alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn returned to competition Saturday in a pair of downhill races in Copper Mountain, Colo.
The 40-year-old Vonn finished 24th and 27th, respectively, out of 45 skiers in the FIS Fall Festival runs. The event is a level below the top-tier World Cup circuit but featured several top skiers who were training for next weekend’s World Cup event in the same venue.
Vonn announced last month she intended to make a comeback almost six years after her retirement following the World Championships in February 2019. A knee injury ended her career then, but she had the knee replaced earlier this year and found herself pain-free, sparking the idea of a comeback.
She’s hoping to compete again in World Cup races and, if she can defy odds and regain something like her old form, potentially the 2026 Olympics. The women’s alpine skiing competition will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn has logged 12 World Cup victories in her career.
“I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself because I have quite a few hoops to jump through,” Vonn told the New York Times last month, adding that she “can’t say right now if it’s a possibility” to compete in Cortina.
Saturday was her first step back. In an…
