Lindsey Vonn has broken bones and broken records... now, at 40, the skiing legend is chasing more Olympic glory

Back connected August 27, 2022, Lindsey Vonn reached retired and took the manus of her mother, Linda Krohn. It was precisely a twelvemonth since the 70-year-old was diagnosed with ALS. It would beryllium the last time they spent together.

‘She passed distant peacefully,’ Vonn said astatine the time. ‘She was a shining airy that volition ne'er slice and I volition everlastingly beryllium inspired by her.’

Linda had been suffering from the time Lindsey was born. She had a changeable portion successful labor. It is deadly 75 per cent of the clip and she was near with insignificant paralysis successful her near leg. 

Linda didn’t retrieve thing for the archetypal 7 weeks of Lindsey's life; the changeable besides prevented her from climbing the upland to ticker girl go a skiing prodigy.

But Linda ne'er complained. Instead, she helped wherever she could – driving 16 hours from their location successful Minnesota to the slopes of Vail, Colorado. Lindsey would beryllium successful the back, nether a sleeping back, portion Linda sung on to Eric Clapton.

Her power endures. That overmuch was wide connected Thursday, erstwhile the 40-year-old announced she was returning to the slopes – 5 years aft hanging up her boots and 22 years since she archetypal made the nationalist team.

'I ever consciousness I person a work to myself and to her to unrecorded each time to my maximum imaginable and ne'er person immoderate regrets,’ Vonn told the New York Times aft confirming her comeback. ‘I consciousness present that I would regret it if I didn't try.’

So present she is plotting a instrumentality to the World Cup circuit – arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent month. She has 1 oculus connected the 2026 Winter Olympics, too. It would beryllium her 5th Games. She is already 1 of the astir decorated skiers of each time, having won 3 Olympic medals and captured each different large title. Among the different prizes she has collected on the way? A cow, and a goat she named Laura.

Those achievements enactment her alongside the top names successful sports. Vonn grew adjacent to Roger Federer, who retired successful 2022 having – arsenic helium told her – ‘squeezed each driblet retired of the lemon’.

Vonn believes immoderate 'juice' remains successful hers and she is inspired by LeBron James, who turns 40 adjacent months but remains a unit successful the NBA.

Vonn is already a fable successful her ain sport. She has been compared to Michael Phelps and, successful truth, she has been surrounded by greatness passim her life.

Her father, Alan, was a inferior nationalist skis champion. Her ex-husband – Thomas Vonn – is simply a chap Olympian and since past Vonn has besides dated NFL manager Kenan Smith, NHL defenseman PK Subban and… Tiger Woods.

They divided successful 2015 aft astir 3 years together; as DailyMail.com revealed, Woods cheated connected the Olympic golden medalist. Two years later, Vonn took connected Donald Trump up of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The skier said she hoped to correspond the American radical – alternatively than the president – and would not judge immoderate invitation to the White House. She has seldom confined herself to the slopes. Vonn has posed for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, competed successful a rap battle, and hosted canine world TV amusement The Pack.

Her skiing career, meanwhile, carried Vonn to heights fewer person reached, but has besides brought immoderate bruising falls.

‘She would alternatively beryllium dormant than not succeed,’ 1 erstwhile manager claimed. Vonn flirted with information each clip she near the gates and that came astatine a price.

Seven months ago, the 40-year-old had genu replacement surgery. She had reached ‘the extremity of the road’ aft aggregate surgeries and respective bruising injuries.

Vonn hadn’t been capable to straighten her close limb for astir 10 years. The problems dispersed to her hip, backmost and neck. 

Vonn limped distant from the athletics successful February 2019. She had nary volition of returning. But 10 weeks aft surgeons opened her up erstwhile more, Vonn was backmost connected the slopes. The operation, it turns out, allowed her to upwind backmost the clock. Vonn was again capable to skis without pain. Now she is chasing different aureate dream.

The American was conscionable 17 erstwhile she made her Olympic bow successful Salt Lake City successful 2022. She went to 3 much Games and is not ruling retired a travel to No 5 successful 2026. ‘The Olympics are what I’ve wanted for myself each my life,’ Vonn said successful 2010.

Minnesota is not known for its slopes but she began ‘carving the section elevation aged conscionable three’. She was racing by the property of seven. By the property of nine, Vonn was competing successful planetary events. Before long, she had outgrown Minnesota and truthful the full household located to Colorado.

Vonn continued to standard caller heights and 2 decades agone she made her archetypal World Cup podium – successful Cortina d’Ampezzo, the tract of the 2026 Olympics.

She went connected to unafraid 82 World Cup wins – the 2nd astir of immoderate pistillate skier. Vonn inactive holds respective different records, including the astir victories by anyone – antheral oregon pistillate – successful a azygous discipline. No 1 has much than her 43 downhill wins and 28 super-G victories.

In 2010, successful Vancouver, she became the archetypal American pistillate to triumph Olympic downhill gold. Four years earlier, 2 days earlier her contention successful Turin, the American was hospitalized aft a brutal 60mph clang that saw her alert 10ft into the air.

Despite archetypal fears that she whitethorn person breached her backmost and pelvis, Vonn dragged her bruised assemblage retired of the infirmary and hobbled connected to the commencement line. Remarkably, she finished eighth.

She had nary specified luck astatine the 2013 World Championships, erstwhile Vonn had beryllium airlifted disconnected the upland aft suffering a torn MCL and ACL. Three years later, she broke her arm.

By 2019 she could instrumentality nary more. ‘My assemblage is breached beyond repair,’ she said. ‘My assemblage is screaming astatine maine to halt and it's clip for maine to listen.’ Vonn is present escaped of symptom and so, astatine 40, she’s listening erstwhile more.