American superstar Lindsey Vonn rolls back the years with magical Downhill run for first win since 2018 at St. Moritz
Updated 12/12/2025 at 14:44 GMT
Lindsey Vonn stunned the skiing world with her return to the World Cup tour in 2024 but she went one better on Friday when she blew away the competition with a sensational run to win the downhill at St. Moritz. It is Vonn's first win on the World Cup since a victory in the same discipline in Are, Sweden, all the way back in 2018. Vonn's win is the 83rd third of her amazing career.
Vonn wows with 'fantastic' downhill run in St Moritz to claim World Cup win
Video credit: TNT Sports
American superstar Lindsey Vonn produced one of the most astonishing performances in Alpine skiing history as she put down a blistering time of 1:29.63 to win the downhill at St. Moritz on Friday, her first World Cup win since the downhill in Are, Sweden, in 2018.
Vonn watched first Germany's Emma Aicher, and then Austria's Mirjam Puchner, set the fastest times just ahead of her start, but the American blew them all away in spectacular fashion.
Vonn set a time 1.16 ahead of Puchner and although another Austrian, Magdalena Egger, was able to slot in to second, no-one could get close to Vonn.
"Lindsey Vonn has done it, by more than a second, that is FANTASTIC by Lindsey Vonn," roared Matt Chilton on commentary.
Former British skier Charlie Guest was watching alongside Chilton for TNT Sports and said "She just cannot believe it, that is an enormous margin, we've seen everyone be pushed so tight. What a mature, confident ski by Lindsey Vonn."
Vonn was 0.38s and then 0.61s behind in the first half of the run but in the second half she exploded, not only clawing back time but then extending a mammoth lead.
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Lindsey Vonn celebrates after her brilliant winning run on Friday
Image credit: Getty Images
Vonn was mobbed by her fellow athletes in the mixed zone and was visibly emotional as she was on the phone talking about her result.
"Being sincere I didn't think she was one second ahead of all the others, I'm really impressed and huge congrats," Italy's Sofia Goggia told Eurosport in the mixed zone.
Fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin, who currently has more World Cup wins than anyone, posted a message of congratulations to Vonn on her Instagram stories.
"What an INCREDIBLE show of how far you can climb with hard work, determination, patience and so much passion. Huge congratulations @lindseyvonn."
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Mikaela Shiffrin's message to Lindsey VOnn
Image credit: Instagram
"We really worked really hard," Vonn said in her post-race interview with the FIS. "Not just me but my whole team from the equipment to physical training, we hired Aksel and we’ve been working really hard.
"I’ve been skiing fast but you never really know until the first race and I think I was a little faster than I expected. I had a great run but I also made some mistakes so I’m excited for tomorrow
"Aksel said something to me at the start that Sofie [Sofia Goggia] lost a lot of time at the top but she was able to make it up at the bottom so in my mind I was thinking ‘Okay I just need to ski the pitch really clean and carry my speed down’.
"I still didn’t ski my best on the compression at the bottom but I just tried to be dynamic, tried to be clean, the way I’ve been skiing in training and it was pretty solid!"
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'I knew I was skiing fast' - Vonn says preparation key to St Moritz win
Video credit: TNT Sports
What does this mean for the Winter Olympics?
Vonn, one of the best athletes the sport has ever produced, made an unexpected comeback last year after retiring in 2019.
Her first race back came last December. She showed glimpses of the old magic when she took fourth in the super-G at St. Anton in January and then in the final race of the season at Sun Valley she took her first podium but this is her first win in the World Cup since that win in Are.
She has been very open that everything is geared towards the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games in February - which you can watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+ - and this performance at St. Mortiz blows everything wide open.
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'Everything that I do is for Cortina' - Vonn reveals when will be her 'last day'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami will miss the Games after undergoing knee surgery, whilst Federica Brignone of Italy is expected to make a return after multiple broken bones in her leg at the end of last season. However, by her own admission, Brignone will be nowhere near her best.
That opens the door for Vonn, who loves Cortina as a course. She has 11 victories there over the course of her career.
This win also could mean that Vonn decides to keep racing beyond the Olympics, when she previously said she would step away.
Vonn's win moves her on to 83 World Cup wins, just three behind the legendary Ingemar Stenmark, who has 86.
Whilst it is unlikely she could catch compatriot Shiffrin (currently 104 wins) she could well get into second place in the all-time standings.
Vonn first competed in the Winter Olympics at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and won gold in the downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Games.
Watch the 2026 Winter Olympics live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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