American downhill skier Lindsey Vonn added to her storied resume by winning her 83rd career downhill World Cup race in St. Moritz on Friday.
The victory also made Vonn, 41, the oldest woman ever to win a World Cup race.
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Vonn, the four-time world champion, clocked 1 minute, 29.63 seconds, beating Austria’s Magdalena Egger by 0.98 seconds for her first victory since 2018.
“I knew I skied fast, but you don’t know until the first race,” Vonn told TNT Sports. “I think I was a little quicker than I expected. It’s a very exciting time.”
Vaughan’s 83 World Cup wins rank third all-time, male or female.
After retiring in 2019 due to knee problems, Vonn returned to competition in December 2024 with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
“Obviously my target is Cortina, but if that’s the way we start, I think I’m in a good position,” Vaughan said.
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Vonn has dominated her career in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the site of February’s Olympic skiing competition, and has won 12 World Cup titles. It’s a special place and a factor in her decision to come back.
“If the Olympics hadn’t been held in Cortina, I don’t think I would have attempted this comeback,” Vonn said in November. “If it had been anywhere else, I might have said it wasn’t worth it. But for me, there’s something special about Cortina that always brings me back, and brings me back for the last time.”
Vonn won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and another bronze at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.
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Vonn’s race didn’t end in St. Moritz. She has another downhill race on Saturday and then a super-G on Sunday.
