Lindsey Vonn, born on October 18, 1984, is a retired American alpine ski racer who made a significant mark in the sport. She secured four overall World Cup championships, ranking third among female skiers, behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin. Vonn achieved three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, followed by another in 2012. She also made history by winning the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, becoming the first American woman to do so.
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Vonn holds the record for eight downhill World Cup season titles (2008–2013, 2015, 2016), five super-G titles (2009–2012, 2015), and three consecutive combined titles (2010–2012). In 2016, she earned her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, surpassing Sweden’s Ingmar Stembark, who had 19 from 1975 to 1984, making Vonn the overall record holder for men or women. She ranks third in super rankings among all skiers, male or female.
Career Highlights and Early Life
One of just six women to have won World Cup races in all five alpine skiing disciplines—downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined—Vonn boasts a total of 82 World Cup victories. This total was a women’s record until January 2023, when it was surpassed by Shiffrin. Only Shiffrin and Stembark have more wins than Vonn.
In addition to her Olympic gold and bronze medals, Vonn earned two World Championship gold medals in 2009, along with three silvers in 2007 and 2011, and four overall World Cup titles. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest skiers in history.
Vonn received the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award in 2011 and was named the United States Olympic Committee’s Female Athlete of the Year. Throughout her career, injuries plagued her, causing her to miss significant portions of several seasons, including nearly all of 2014 and most of 2013. During her recovery, she worked as a correspondent for NBC News at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She announced her retirement in 2019, citing her ongoing injuries.
Born Lindsey Caroline Kildow in St. Paul, Minnesota, she is the daughter of Linda Anne (née Krohn) and Alan Lee Kildow. She grew up in Burnsville, Minnesota, within the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Her father is of Irish descent, while her mother has German and Norwegian roots. Kildow was on skis by the age of two and later joined the prestigious Erich Sailer development program at Buck Hill in Burnsville, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick. Her father, a former junior national champion who suffered a knee injury at 18, was known for his strong encouragement.
Early Influences and Media Appearances
At the age of nine, Kildow met Olympic gold medalist Picabo Street, whom she admires as a hero and role model. This encounter made a lasting impression on Street, who later became Kildow’s skiing mentor. When Street first watched Kildow compete in a 1999 event, she was struck by Kildow’s natural ability, noting, The faster she went, the bigger her smile. Kildow trained in Colorado for several years before her family relocated to Vail in the late 1990s.
Kildow completed her education through the University of Missouri High School, an online program offered by the university’s Center for Distance and Independent Study. She is fluent in German. Although she did not attend a traditional four-year college, she participated in a four-day program at Harvard Business School focused on the Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports. Vonn made her debut in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, which featured athletes from the 2010 Winter Olympics.
That same year, she ranked 59th on Maxim’s Hot 100 list. She returned to the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2016, where she posed wearing only body paint, and again in 2019. On May 6, 2018, Vonn appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of Drop the Mic, engaging in a rap battle against Gus Kenworthy. You can read Winter Olympic Milano Cortina 2026: Enjoy the Thrill of Alpine Ski Racing Once Again
Documentaries and Winter Olympic Achievements
In 2019, HBO released a documentary titled Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season, which chronicles her last World Championship season and her journey from child prodigy to three-time winter Olympic medalist. Vonn also hosted the one-season dog reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020, featuring her dog, Lucy, as her companion on the show.
At the 2010 Winter Olympic in Vancouver, Vonn planned to compete in all five women’s alpine events. On February 10, she revealed that she had badly bruised her leg in training last week. Vonn said the pain from her injury was excruciating and she would find it difficult to compete in the Winter Olympics. Due to the unusually warm weather and resulting poor snow conditions, many of the alpine skiing events were moved, giving Vonn extra time to recover. On February 17, in her first race, Vonn won downhill gold at Whistler Blackcomb, beating long-time American rival Julia Mancuso by 0.56 seconds and becoming the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold.
Challenges at the 2010 Winter Olympics
In her second race, the super combined, Vonn finished first in the downhill leg of the race. In the slalom portion, however, she crashed when she failed to ski around the right gate. Vonn said her legs weren’t the problem. Gold and silver were won Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso respectively.
In her third race, the super-G, Vonn finished third behind Andrea Fischbacher and Tina Maze, 0.74 seconds behind Fischbacher’s winning time. Afterwards, Vonn said she didn’t ski the last part of the course as aggressively as she could have and lost the race as a result.
In her fourth race, the giant slalom, fog affected visibility. Vonn crashed on her first run, resulting in a broken fourth finger and her disqualification from the event. In her fifth event, the slalom, Vonn lost control and went over a gate, disqualifying her from the event.
Is Lindsey Vonn Making a Comeback to Ski Racing?
Lindsey Vonn achieved a remarkable 82 victories on the World Cup circuit before announcing her retirement in 2019. At the time, she was the all-time winningest female ski racer and second only to Ingemar Stenmark’s long-standing record of 86 wins.
Now, at the age of 39, rumors are swirling that Vonn is returning to the World Cup this season. Here’s what we know. Ski Racing Media is among the first media to cover this story. Recently, Vonn seen skiing in New Zealand with Red Bull and a former coach.
She then headed to the Rettenbachferner Glacier in Sölden, Austria, to train with the HEAD race team, a long-time sponsor for her skis, boots, and outerwear. Vonn then shared a few photos with her followers this morning, October 9, 2024, with a cliff-hanging caption:
It’s been an incredible last week. Being back in the mountains is where I find so much joy, she said she. It’s my natural habitat… even if I’m not a fan of the cold, haha! Excited to share more. Vonn’s excited comments have her fans eagerly anticipating more updates. Olympian Ted Ligety commented with a ‘simple eye’.
Speculation on Vonn’s Potential Return to the Winter Olympic
Speculation about Vonn’s return is also growing thanks to a new FIS rule that gives spots to decorated athletes. The new rule states a Wild Card may awarde to athletes who have won either anOverallWorld Cup Globe, an Event Globe (DH, SG, GS or SL) provided they have at least five (5) wins of the World Cup), Olympic Gold Medal (Individual) or World Championship Gold Medal (Individual).
Before the rule, skiers would have to qualify with active FIS points in sanctioned competitions. Considering Vonn hasn’t competed in five years, this is her golden ticket to making a comeback, so to speak. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Vonn has four all-around titles, 16 event titles, 82 wins, one winter Olympic gold medal and two World Championship gold medals. In short, she far exceeds the minimum qualifications to secure a spot on the World Cup circuit.
If Vonn applies for a wild card spot this season, she will join Austrian legend Marcel Hirscher, another highly accomplished alpine skier who previously retired and applied for a wild card. Hirscher, 35, will now compete for the Netherlands in the season opener in Sölden on October 27, 2024. Vonn finished in a variety of disciplines throughout her storied career, but the speed events are where she dominated. Considering the first Downhill and Super-G races of the season are scheduled to take place in Beaver Creek, Colorado in early December, that seems to where Vonn will attempt a comeback, if she does at all.
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