So why did Lindsey Vonn face so much second guessing in Europe about her comeback to ski racing at age 40 this season?
Maybe it's the speeds in downhill that exceed 80 mph (130 kph). Or maybe it was because of Vonn's long history of crashes and injuries. Or maybe it's because no woman of her caliber had ever done it before — even though plenty of men have competed successfully in ski racing beyond 40.
Whatever it was, Vonn has a simple explanation for why she returned. It has a lot to do with the multiple injuries that ended her career prematurely back in 2019 and the surgery to replace part of her right knee with titanium that has her feeling better than she has since she was in her 20s.
“The why is that I love skiing,” Vonn told The Associated Press in a recent interview ahead of the world championships starting this week. “The last few years of my career, I was in a lot of pain and I was dealing with a lot of injuries. And I haven’t felt this good in a long, long time.
“I’m really solid. My position is solid. I think I’m technically actually skiing better now than I was when I retired," Vonn added. "But the ‘why’ is just I love it. I love going fast and I’m still capable of doing it. I know that I’m still competitive. I think I’ve proven already that I’m competitive. So why not?”
Before Vonn returned in December after nearly six years of retirement, two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister suggested that the American “should see a psychologist,” adding on Austrian TV, “Does she want to kill herself?”
Austrian downhill great Franz Klammer said “she’s gone completely mad” and four-time overall World Cup champion Pirmin Zurbriggen said that Vonn “hasn’t recognized the meaning and purpose of her other life in recent years.”
But Vonn showed that she can still be competitive when she finished sixth and fourth in a downhill and a super-G in St. Anton, Austria, last month. She's still rediscovering her speed and has had a few minor falls during her comeback, but she also now has had more time to regain her timing entering worlds at another Austrian resort — in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.
“I don’t feel like I’m 40," Vonn said. "I think if you would have asked this question a year and a half ago or a year ago, I would have said, ‘Yeah, I feel really old.’ But with my knee I feel so much better. And it’s possible. Anything is possible.”
Besides Brady and Hamilton, Vonn is also inspired by the way Serena Williams excelled even at the end of her career near age 40.
“Tom, Lewis, Serena. They’ve all done it,” Vonn said. “The resources that athletes have now allow for a better recovery. So even though you’re older, you’re still recovering faster than I was when I was in my 20s.
Vonn and Shiffrin are both back in time to lend star power to worlds
Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin are both back just in time to lend some serious star power to the worlds — the biggest event in skiing outside of the Olympics.
Shiffrin returned to the circuit on Thursday when she placed 10th in a World Cup slalom in Courchevel, France. It was her first race back in two months after crashing and suffering a deep puncture wound on her side.
“I’m catching up to the fastest in the world," Shiffrin said, “so I have a lot of work to do.”
The two Americans are the winningest female racers in World Cup history with 99 victories for Shiffrin and 82 for Vonn.
There’s even a chance that Vonn and Shiffrin could team up in the new team combined event that entails one squad member competing in downhill and the other in slalom — with their two times added together to determine the final results.
In terms of pedigree, there couldn't be a better team: Vonn is the all-time leader in World Cup downhill victories with 43 and Shiffrin holds the mark in slalom with 62 — both records among men and women.
First, though, Vonn will be in the spotlight during her individual events of super-G and downhill on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Shiffrin is planning to compete in only two individual events: the giant slalom and slalom on Feb. 13 and 15.
The women’s team combined event is scheduled for Feb. 11.
“All of my teammates have been showing incredible speed this season, and I would be lucky and so excited to pair with anyone one of them for team combined if I’m in the position to be able to race,” Shiffrin said.
The championships open with a team parallel event on Tuesday that neither Vonn nor Shiffrin will compete in.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
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