Lindsey Vonn targets return to best form after World Cup comeback in St. Moritz - 'I am really close'
Updated 21/12/2024 at 16:46 GMT
Lindsey Vonn is back after completing a remarkable return at the World Cup. The Olympic gold medallist hung up her skis in 2019 due to injury, but she announced she would compete again after undergoing successful knee surgery. Vonn marked her return to the World Cup with an impressive 14th-placed finish at the Super G at St Moritz in Switzerland, and afterwards claimed she felt "really good".
‘I was a little bit stressed’ – Vonn reflects on overcoming 'nerves' in World Cup comeback
Video credit: TNT Sports
Lindsey Vonn believes she is close to being back to her best after completing a remarkable return to World Cup competition in the Super G at St. Moritz.
The three-time Olympic medallist retired from Alpine skiing in February 2019 due to injury but announced her return to the sport in November following knee surgery.
Vonn marked her comeback with an impressive 14th-placed finish in Switzerland, and she believes that there is still more to come in the months ahead.
"I felt really good, there is definitely a lot that I have left to give," she said.
"I really wanted to get to the finish today and be solid, I did not want to risk too much. Today was not the day to do anything special.
"The course was a little bit bumpy when I went and so in some sections, I was more conservative with my line.
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‘I was a little bit stressed’ – Vonn reflects on overcoming 'nerves' in World Cup comeback
Video credit: TNT Sports
"But, in some sections, I was really fast. I was like fourth and second in a couple of sections.
"I am really close to being there, I am just not quite there yet."
Vonn is one of the most successful skiers of all time, with 82 World Cup wins to her name.
She won gold in the downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as well as bronze in the Super G the same year.
Her third Olympic medal came in Pyeongchang in 2018, when she picked up bronze in the downhill.
Vonn admits she is still getting back in the swing of things after more than five years away from the sport.
"I was a little bit stressed, I was a little bit behind," she said. "I forgot a couple of things and I was a bit hectic because I have not done it in a while.
"You get into a routine and everything runs so smoothly and I am just getting back in the routine.
"It was nice to feel the nerves again and to be in the start again, but tomorrow will be better because now I am used to it.
"I think the first one is the hardest because you just have to dive in."
Austria's Cornelia Hutter came out on top in St Moritz.
Vonn believes that her performance in Switzerland was the perfect start to her return to World Cup events.
"When I am in the starting gate, I don't see anything else but the gates in front of me," she added.
"It feels so good to have the nerves, to have the butterflies and to push yourself. I always feel like it is just me against the mountain, and I love that feeling.
"In ski racing, there is no limit to what you can push yourself to.
"I think this is the perfect start, and I am looking forward to trying to improve in every race."
Stream the 2024/25 Alpine skiing season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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