BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — Lindsey Vonn tries to take her comeback step-by-step even if there's plenty of reason — and temptation — to look down the road.
On Wednesday, the 40-year-old American ski racer was concentrating solely on testing out the Birds of Prey course as a forerunner. Soon, it's setting up to be a World Cup race. Possibly later, the 2026 Winter Games at one of her favorite venues in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
“In a perfect world, yeah, that would be amazing,” Vonn said of the thought of competing at a fifth Winter Olympics. “But I’m trying to stay in the present. It’s a long ways to Cortina. So, again, just put the brakes on my expectations and try to stay focused on today and see where I can take it, because no one’s done it before.”
What she's trying to accomplish is a comeback after nearly six years away and after undergoing a partial knee replacement last April.
Vonn was one of three forerunners Wednesday to test out the demanding course before the racers in the field went through a training run. She's scheduled to serve as a forerunner over the next two training days, and then both races — a downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.
She earned enough points last weekend at a series of lower-level FIS races to compete on the World Cup circuit, but not in time to earn a spot at Beaver Creek.
After finishing her forerunning trip through the course, Vonn called in a report to her American teammates. She offered advice on how to tackle the hill.
“It felt so normal to be standing in the start gate,” Vonn said. “Everything felt as it should.”
Strange being a forerunner again, which is typically reserved for racers just breaking into the circuit?
“I don’t think it feels strange,” Vonn said. “It feels normal in the progression that I’m making. I mean, I would prefer to be racing here, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
She looked in fast form, too. At least, teammate Bella Wright thought so after watching her from a ski lift.
“I heard some skis and looked over and it was Lindsey tucking,” Wright said. “I was like, ‘Oh, she looks as good as ever.’”
Vonn wasn't quite ready to commit to a racing schedule. The next speed events are a pair of super-G competitions on Dec. 21-22 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
“We’ll see,” Vonn said of her plans. “I felt really good physically out there today. I definitely skied conservatively. Very soon I’ll make a decision, but not today.”
When Vonn left the tour, she had 82 World Cup wins — the record for a woman at the time and within reach of the all-time Alpine mark of 86 held by Swedish standout Ingemar Stenmark. The women’s record held by Vonn was eclipsed in January 2023 by Mikaela Shiffrin, whose 99 wins are more than any Alpine ski racer in the history of the sport.
Vonn is trying to temper expectations.
“I have to be patient. It is definitely not my strong suit. But I’m trying," Vonn said. "I have a partial knee replacement. I know I’m not going to be winning World Cups right off the bat, but I know what I’m capable of. ... I’m really close to being in a really good spot.
“I just hope everyone’s as patient as I am. Just keep everything in perspective and not come after me and my kneecaps when I don’t win my first World Cup.”
Looming on the horizon is the 2026 Winter Games at a place Vonn thrives — Cortina. She has 12 World Cup downhill and super-G wins at the venue. Vonn also recorded the first podium result of her career in Cortina, back in 2004. It's also the site of where, in 2015, she broke Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell’s women's mark of 62 World Cup wins across all disciplines.
“When I retired, I think the number one thing that I was sad about was that I couldn’t race Cortina for the Olympics,” Vonn said. “Cortina is a very special place to me.”
Notes: Federica Brignone of Italy had the fastest time at 1 minute, 34.13 seconds on a Birds of Prey course that's new to quite a few racers. Swiss racer Lara Gut-Behrami was 0.39 seconds behind in second. “It's really nice,” Gut-Behrami said of the course. “Today, with the sunshine, the first run, the slope was on the soft side — easy, skiable side. For the race ... it's going to going to be way harder, way faster and way more challenging.”
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Pat Graham, The Associated Press
