Lindsey Vonn
Vonn is one of the most successful ski racers in history, defined by speed, an appetite for risk and repeated comebacks from serious injury. She has been unusually open about both her ambitions and her setbacks.
Personality
Vonn is a bold decision-maker who tends to choose competition over caution. She came out of a five-year retirement at 40, after a partial knee replacement, and in 2026 decided to race the Olympic downhill nine days after rupturing a knee ligament, despite loud public criticism. She describes herself as a very open person who does not hide who she is, and after her Olympic crash she shared her hospital stays and rehabilitation on social media. She also calls herself fiercely independent and has said that relying on others during recovery was one of the hardest parts.
Under pressure
Injury has shaped Vonn's career. She crashed in training at the 2006 Olympics, raced two days later and earned the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award; a crash at the 2013 World Championships badly damaged her right knee and eventually kept her out of the Sochi Games; and accumulated injuries led to her 2019 retirement. In February 2026 she crashed 13 seconds into the Olympic downhill at Cortina and broke her left leg. She later told NPR she had no regrets and that her obstacles had always made her a better person, while admitting the knee injury had changed how she skied that race.
The arc
Born Lindsey Kildow in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she grew up in Burnsville and learned to race at Buck Hill in Erich Sailer's programme. She made her Olympic debut in 2002, won downhill gold and super-G bronze in Vancouver in 2010, and added downhill bronze in 2018. She won World Cup overall titles in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 and retired in February 2019 with 82 World Cup wins. Returning in late 2024, she won the St. Moritz downhill in December 2025 to become the oldest World Cup downhill winner, and took her 84th win in January 2026. She has not ruled out another return.
Legacy
Vonn was the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold, and her 82 World Cup victories stood as the women's record until Mikaela Shiffrin passed it in 2023. She is one of six women to win World Cup races in all five alpine disciplines and is widely counted among the greatest alpine skiers. Her 2025-26 season, leading the downhill standings at 41 after years away, challenged assumptions about age in speed events. Through the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, founded in 2015, she has funded scholarships and confidence-building camps for girls from underserved communities.
Birth data confidence · Date high · Time high · Place high · Birth certificate