Lindsey Vonn Places 10th in Downhill Training Just 2 Days Ahead of FIS Alpine World Cup in St. Anton, Austria

Lindsey Vonn appears to be in top fighting shape as the U.S. athlete has shown strong form during Downhill training runs in St. Anton, Austria. Ahead of the FIS Downhill races, several timed training runs are held. On Thursday, January 9, Lindsey Vonn came 10th during the Downhill training in St. Anton. Yesterday’s training was canceled, but Thursday’s results show just how strong the formerly retired ski racer’s fitness is. Lindsey Vonn announced her comeback to competitive ski racing in October 2024 after she had undergone knee replacement surgery in April 2024.

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Vonn’s first FIS World Cup race was a Super-G race on December 21, in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Vonn finished her comeback race in an impressive 14th place. Unfortunately, the second Super-G race on December 22 had to be canceled due to inclement weather. Her comeback was made possible through the introduction of a wildcard by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).

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Vonn retired from competitive racing in March 2019, having won 82 World Cup races, four FIS Alpine World Cup Overall season titles, seven World Championship titles, and one Olympic Gold. Her comeback was met with some scepticism but the 40-year-old athlete proved all naysayers wrong with a dominant performance after more than five years of retirement.

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The Downhill race at St. Anton will be held on Saturday, January 11, and is followed by a Super-G race on Sunday, January 12. It is expected that Vonn will compete in both events. Italy’s Federica Brignone had the fastest time on the course in St. Anton on Thursday, with a time of 1:27.09 that put her 1.31 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami. While athletes will not typically go all out during training runs, they can be a good indication of an athlete’s form as well as suitability to a specific race course and race conditions.