Lindsey Vonn satisfied with second behind Mikaela Shiffrin of all-time greats ahead of World Cup comeback in St. Moritz
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Updated 20/12/2024 at 12:41 GMT
Lindsey Vonn will take to the slopes at the World Cup for the first time in almost six years, after knee replacement surgery in 2024 has allowed the American to ski pain free. The three-time Olympic medallist is not putting pressure on herself to immediately return to her best, and said that she is "perfectly fine" with Mikaela Shiffrin being ahead of her as the greatest female skier of all time.
Vonn on her goals this season ahead of skiing comeback - 'I'm driven to succeed'
Video credit: TNT Sports
A "brand new" Lindsey Vonn says she is satisfied with being the second-best female skier of all time behind Mikaela Shiffrin ahead of her sensational return to World Cup action after six years off the slopes.
The 40-year-old will make her FIS Alpine Ski World Cup comeback in St. Moritz this weekend, having last completed a course in the competition in January 2019.
That was at Cortina d’Ampezzo, the same venue for the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Vonn would love to continue her miraculous second career.
But one woman who will not be competing in the Swiss Alps this Saturday is five-time overall Crystal Globe winner Shiffrin, who is currently recovering from surgery.
And while Vonn admitted that her compatriot holds the Alpine Skiing greatest-of-all-time tag, she said she was "perfectly fine" to sit in second place.
"I'm just really excited for Mikaela and what she's been able to achieve," Vonn told CNN. "I think it's so great for sports and for women's sports, and it's been really fun to watch as a spectator.
"I feel like it's just a separate thing. For me, I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. I'm really happy with what I achieved in my career.
"I'm the No. 2 most successful women's skier of all time. That's perfectly fine with me.
"Of course, I hope to do well. But I'm not comparing myself to her and I'm really happy for her and I'm supporting her as a team-mate. But I think my goals are totally different."
Whether Vonn can recapture the form that saw her win a record eight downhill and five Super-G Crystal Globes remains to be seen.
- Mikaela Shiffrin gives injury update after FIS Alpine Ski World Cup crash in Vermont - 'I was really lucky'
- Lindsey Vonn feeling 'stronger now than in my mid to late 20s' ahead of World Cup return in St. Moritz
But the American insists she is pain free after knee replacement surgery earlier this year and is confident that she can eventually return to somewhere close to her best.
"It's been many, many years now that I have been able to ski without pain. And I think back to the last few years of my career and how hard it was for me," said Vonn.
"I want to experience ski racing again with a healthy body to really enjoy it and not always think about my body and how broken it is.
"I feel like I'm in my early twenties and it feels great. It's like a whole new world for me and my goals.
"I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. So it's going to take a second, but I think I can get back to a similar level to what I was before."
And as for her knee, Vonn feels as if she is "brand new" after years of stress and agony, even after retiring in 2019.
"It's like night and day," said Vonn. "Before surgery, I thought about my knee almost every single day, for the majority of the day. It was always hurting.
"I thought after my skiing career, it would get better, but it really didn't. And so I've had multiple surgeries since retiring, even before the replacement.
"Now I don't think about it. I don't think about it when I wake up in the morning, I don't think about it when I'm skiing, I don't think about it when I'm in the weight room.
"It is like I am brand new again and it's such an amazing feeling."
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Lindsey Vonn won her only Olympic gold at Vancouver 2010
Image credit: Getty Images
While the three-time Olympic medallist is glad to continue defying critics in her third decade of competitive action, she was adamant she did not need to "prove anything to anyone."
Vonn said: "A lot of people think my whole career that I'm a little bit crazy, but just because no one's done it before, it doesn't mean that it's a crazy concept.
"I mean, if I listened to critics, I would probably never have been a ski racer because I've been told my whole career that I'm never going to be anything. I proved them wrong.
"I feel that there's a lot less weight on my shoulders. I'm not trying to break any records. I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone.
"I'm just skiing because I love skiing and that's the most important thing to me. I’m happy. I think everyone can see I'm smiling out on the mountain.
"But I think over the years, you know, with injury and expectation, it somehow becomes less free. You have more constraints and more obligations. And now I'm very much just doing this because I love skiing."
Stream the 2024/25 Alpine skiing season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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