Lindsey Vonn explains the real reason for her return

The prospect of competing in the 2026 Olympics in Cortina, Italy, was “the main reason” for Lindsey Vonn’s return to racing. The U.S. champion, engaged in some TV filming in Los Angeles with the athletes who will represent Team USA at the 2026 Games, made that clear.

“The real reason I’m coming back is because they’re taking place in Cortina – explained Vonn -I don’t think I would have come back if the Olympics were not held in Cortina. It is a historically very important place for me. It is where I stood on my first podium (in 2004), where I broke the record for World Cup wins (2015), I thought it would be the perfect place to end my career again”.

Vonn, 40, Olympic downhill champion in 2010 in Vancouver, returned to racing this winter, more than six years after retiring, tried by numerous injuries but with a trophy case full of trophies (82 World Cup wins, two world titles, four overall ranking cups).

Thanks to the operation on her right knee, the American succeeded in her gamble by quickly recovering good feelings. “An incredible season. I had so many great experiences –Vonn words -. Sun Valley was the perfect conclusion. It gives me a lot of confidence for next season. Of course I had my ups and downs, and I learned a lot. I know what I have to do next year’next year”.

Mikaela Shiffrin, who suffered her first, serious injury in Cortina in January 2024, was also present at the event: “Unexpected things always happen at the Olympics. We will be in Cortina, a beautiful place, which we know well. It is nice to go to a place that is familiar to us. You can look at the Games program and see what it will be like. I would say it is almost like home, since I have spent so much time in Europe over the years”.

Shiffrin looks to the 2026 Games as the big event to be honored to the fullest: the Colorado outfielder, an Olympic gold medalist in Sochi and Pyeongchang, did not repeat in 2022 in Beijing (zero medals, three withdrawals). The 30-year-old American, who has 101 World Cup victories to her credit, sat out two and a half months last winter due to a bad injury in late 2024.

“We didn&#8217t have the urgency to speed up the return – she said – although I felt I had to beat the clock. If I had not been able to return in time for the world championships in Saalbach I would have given up the season”. And now I head for the Olympic event&#8217. “I have a lot of experience about the Olympics and I am still learning – added Shiffrin – and I know anything can happen. I thought I had seen it all after South Korea (a giant slalom title but a disappointment in slalom), then Beijing came along and showed me how difficult and overwhelming this event can be when things go wrong.”

“I think the best approach is to do my best, to prepare, to train to be ready. Then we will see what happens. The Games of course I am thinking about, I see them as a big event, but I am looking forward to the path that will take me there. I can&#8217t wait to compete again without the feeling of injury, to start the season with some freshness, to start from scratch. And there will be so much to do before the Olympics”.