Lindsey Vonn knows how to shut down her haters. When Tom Brady played in the NFL well beyond the age of 40, no one called him crazy. When Lewis Hamilton recently got behind the wheel of a Ferrari Formula 1 car for the first time at 40, no one told him he was too old for elite racing. So why only Lindsey? Five years after retiring and just months after knee surgery, the 40-year-old skiing legend is back on the slopes, pain-free and with one clear goal in mind.

Vonn didn’t step away from skiing because she wanted to, but because her body and injuries forced her to retire. torn ligaments, chronic pain, and injuries made it impossible for her to compete. when she left competitive ski racing in 2019, she had already had 82 World Cup victories which was the most for a female skier at that time. Only Mikaela Shiffrin was able to surpass that mark with 99 wins.

Now as she makes a comeback, and looks to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, not everyone seems to be overboard with her decision. In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Vonn addressed the skeptics questioning her return. She said, “Been a little frustrating because that’s a close-minded way to think. This is 2025—a lot of things have changed. The conversation is not in the same universe as it was 25 years ago. I don’t put any weight behind those comments [from competitors who retired a long time ago], and I actually feel sorry for them. They would have benefited from these procedures. I do hope this opens people’s eyes to what’s possible. I already have skiers calling me, asking about their knees, hips.“

Competing in Cortina would mark her fifth Olympic Games, a fitting full-circle moment. It’s where she recorded her first podium finish (2004) and claimed her first World Cup title (2008). She also broke the all-time wins record (2015) here and set the all-time downhill wins record (2016). With six victories in downhill and six in Super-G, no woman has won more at the Italian venue.

Vonn’s recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. Just a month after her second surgery, she could fully extend her right leg—a movement that had been impossible for years. Once back in the gym, she reintroduced exercises she had abandoned due to pain. She also ramped up her training on the slopes hitting nine runs per session, then 15—a level she hadn’t reached since her mid-20s. If she returns to anywhere near peak form, she could become the oldest woman to win a World Cup race, surpassing Federica Brignone, who won at 34.

Her progress after the comeback shows that Skeptics will always exist, but Vonn is letting her skiing do the talking. If she makes it to the 2026 Winter Olympics, it won’t just be a comeback—it’ll be a statement. But how did it all happen and how was she able to return from such a gruesome injury?

Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable return to Ski Racing?

We have seen only a few athletes returning to professional sports after undergoing a major joint replacement. Bo Jackson did it in 1993 and tennis star Andy Murray did it in 2019. But Lindsey Vonn was the first one to do it in the Ski racing. Downhill racers have to ride over bumpy, rutted ski runs, and they also have to fly over rolling jumps and then land again on the snow at high speeds. Ski racers without artificial joints often get severely injured when crashing at that speed. Vonn also suffered injuries. But, last April she underwent a lateral uni-compartment knee arthroplasty on her right knee. In plain language, she had a partial knee replacement, and the surgeons took out a little bit of bone and replaced it with titanium alloy.

The surgery did wonders for her injury. A couple of months later Vonn went back to the gym and she had to re-condition her nervous system and musculature accustomed to the pain. A few days after her 40th birthday in October, Vonn went to Sölden, Austria, to perform her first actual competition training. When she believed that she could do it once again, she announced her comeback in November 2024. She skied down the women’s downhill and super-G courses at the Beaver Creek World Cup in Colorado eight months after surgery, that too at her own pace. Miraculous isn’t it?

Vonn’s comeback is unprecedented in ski racing, but her resilience and determination are setting a new standard. If she continues on this path, she could redefine the possibilities for aging athletes and those who are troubled by injuries. Whether she makes it to the 2026 Winter Olympics or not, her return to the slopes is already an extraordinary achievement.