Lindsey Vonn Qualifies for Winter Olympics at Age 41, Medal Count for Historic Career

Lindsey Vonn has qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics just over a year after coming out of retirement to resume her historic ski racing career.

Vonn, 41, announced in a Tuesday Instagram post that she had officially qualified to represent the United States during the Milan Cortina Games.

"I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!" Vonn wrote. "When I made the decision to return to ski racing, I always had one eye on Cortina because it's a place that is very, very special to me. Although I can't guarantee any outcomes, I can guarantee that I will give my absolute best every time l kick out of the starting gate. No matter how these games end up, I feel like I've already won.

"I am grateful for how the season has gone so far, but I am just getting started."

Vonn enters what she says will be her final Games as a four-time Olympian and three-time medalist.

She won a gold medal in downhill and a bronze in Super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, then collected another bronze in downhill at PyeongChang in 2018.

She is the only American woman to have ever taken home a gold medal in the Olympic downhill.

Vonn originally cited multiple severe injuries when announcing her retirement from the sport in February 2019.

"My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of," Vonn wrote in February 2019.

Vonn suffered broken bones, torn ligaments and concussions throughout her skiing career. She has undergone nine knee surgeries, most recently including a partial knee replacement in April 2024.

She nevertheless announced last November she was coming out of retirement at age 40 after six years away from competition.

She has since made an unprecedented return to the top of the sport, during which she has recorded four podium finishes in her last five World Cup races.

That included a win in the downhill in St. Mortiz, where Vonn took home the 83rd World Cup win of her career back on Dec. 12.

Her most recent race, a third-place finish on Sunday in super-G Val d'Isère, marked her 142nd career podium finish.

US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said in a Tuesday statement that Vonn "qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication."

Vonn, who currently sits No. 1 in downhill and No. 3 in super-G in the FIS World Cup standings, recently told The Athletic's Zack Pierce it was important to her to have earned her Olympic bid through her standings points rather than potentially receive a discretionary spot on the team.

"It was very important to me that I qualified based on my performance and results this season, and not based on what was done in the past," Vonn told Pierce. "My skiing had to earn this spot, and I'm proud to have done that."

The alpine skiing portion of the 2026 Olympics are set to begin in early February, with the women's downhill scheduled for Feb. 8 at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo.