Lindsey Vonn crashed out of a World Cup Super-G race on Sunday while on pace for her best finish so far in her comeback to alpine skiing.
The American star was tracking toward a podium spot in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy — on the hill that will host the 2026 Olympics — when she went down onto her left side coming around a turn just over 50 seconds into her run and spun in the snow. She slammed her pole in frustration, got up on her own power, and skied down the hill, waving to the crowd at the bottom.
Vonn, one of 10 skiers who didn’t finish Sunday, had the 10th fastest split in the first sector of the race and fourth quickest in the second. She was just a half-second off the lead at that point — a pace that would’ve netted her a top-three position had she kept it up through the finish. Italy’s Federica Brignone won in 1:21.64, with the Swiss pair of Lara Gut-Behrami (1:22.22) and Corinne Suter (1:22.72) rounding out the podium.
“I definitely made some mistakes on the top, but I got a little bit behind the course and tried to pull it off,” Vonn told reporters after the race. “Then my skis kind of clicked together and I lost my balance.”
Lindsey Vonn shows her frustration as she makes her way down the mountain following her fall in Sunday’s Super-G race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Julian Finney / Getty Images)
The Super-G crash was her second of the weekend after Vonn also went down during downhill training on Thursday.
It was Vonn’s fifth race back on the World Cup circuit since announcing an unlikely return to the sport after nearly six years away. Injuries drove her to retire in 2019, but a knee replacement in 2024 left her feeling pain-free and planning a comeback. She returned in December and finished 14th in a Super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, then took sixth in downhill and fourth in Super-G last week in St. Anton, Austria. On Saturday in Cortina, Vonn finished 20th in downhill.
A three-time Olympic medalist, including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Vonn holds the all-time record with 12 World Cup wins at Cortina d’Ampezzo, which will host the 2026 Games on the Olympia delle Tofane track that is a regular stop on the women’s tour.
In a post on X later Sunday, Vonn didn’t seem all that deterred by the rough weekend at one of her favorite venues.
“S— happens,” she wrote. “On to the next race.”
Tracking Lindsey Vonn’s World Cup return
| Date | Venue | Discipline | Pos. | Time | Behind lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dec. 21 |
St. Moritz |
Super-G |
14th |
1:16.36 |
1.18 |
|
Jan. 11 |
St. Anton |
Downhill |
6th |
1:16.66 |
0.58 |
|
Jan. 12 |
St. Anton |
Super-G |
4th |
1:18.75 |
1.24 |
|
Jan. 18 |
Cortina d’Ampezzo |
Downhill |
20th |
1:35.63 |
1.68 |
|
Jan. 19 |
Cortina d’Ampezzo |
Super-G |
DNF |
N/A |
N/A |
Jacqueline Wiles was the top American in Saturday’s downhill, finishing seventh. Lauren Macuga, the rising 22-year-old who won the St. Anton Super-G for her first World Cup race win, was the top U.S. finisher Sunday, taking 13th.
Vonn’s fourth-place finish in St. Anton made her the oldest woman to finish that high in a World Cup race. The 34-year-old Brignone, who now has four victories this season, is the oldest to ever win a World Cup race.
The strong results have brought Vonn back into the picture at the sport’s highest level. She’s 17th in the World Cup downhill standings and 14th in Super-G. Last week, Vonn told the Associated Press that she would retire again after the 2026 Olympics, if she makes the U.S. team there. The Olympic women’s alpine skiing program is slated to begin Feb. 8, 2026.
The World Cup speed skiing circuit heads to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, next weekend, where Vonn is again scheduled to compete in the downhill and Super-G. After that, the World Cup schedule pauses for the world championships in Saalbach, Austria, which begin Feb. 4.
GO DEEPER
Lindsey Vonn, at historic stop for women’s alpine, kicks off her World Cup return
(Photo of Lindsey Vonn during Sunday’s Super-G: Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images)
