Lindsey Vonn Enters World Cup Ski Races in Switzerland at 40 Years Old amid Comeback

Lindsey Vonn is attempting a comeback at the age of 40.

The United States Ski Team confirmed on Friday that Vonn will compete in a pair of super-G events at the World Cup in St. Moritz.

Vonn has been dropping hints for the past couple of months that she was preparing to ski in competitive events again.

"It's been an incredible past few weeks," Vonn wrote in a post on Instagram in October (h/t Peggy Shinn of SkiMag.com). "Being back in the mountains is where I find so much joy. It's my natural habitat…even if I hate being cold lol. Excited to share more (soon)."

The Olympic gold medalist hasn't competed in a formal event since the 2019 World Championships. She won a bronze medal in the women's downhill, becoming the oldest woman to medal at the event (34 years old).

Vonn also became the first woman to medal at six different World Championships. She said afterward that she was looking forward to retirement to give her mind and body time to heal and live life away from the slopes.

"I'm looking forward to just chilling out a bit and recovering everything, including my mind. It's been a lot to process. The nice thing is that, in the real world I'm actually pretty young. I have felt really old for a long time, because I'm racing with girls that are like 15 years younger than me. So now, in the real world, I'm normal. Thirty is the new 20 so I'm super young. I've got a lot to look forward to."

Vonn was dealing with a series of physical ailments at that time, including a knee injury. She announced in April that she had knee replacement surgery due to "severe tri-compartment degeneration" in her left knee.

The course at St. Moritz has been the site of five of Vonn's World Cup victories. Her 82 career wins in World Cup competition ranks second all-time among female skiers, trailing only Mikaela Shiffrin (88).

Super-G competitions will take place at St. Moritz on Dec. 21 and 22.