{"id":108656,"date":"2025-12-25T11:07:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/108656\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T11:07:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:07:22","slug":"lindsey-vonn-continues-to-defy-time-qualifying-for-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/108656\/","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Vonn continues to defy time, qualifying for Winter Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s been one surprise after another lately from Lindsey Vonn<\/a>. And the announcement that the 41-year-old slopes queen has qualified for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February isn\u2019t the last of it. <\/p>\n

It might have been her post on Instagram<\/a> that stated unequivocally that this will be the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!\u201d Vonn said. <\/p>\n

Vonn\u2019s remarkable and inspiring comeback from injuries and a seven-year hiatus from top-level competitive skiing has injected the U.S. team narrative with an irresistible story line. That her quest will culminate in the mountains of northern Italy just two months from now will make it must-watch television and social media video.<\/p>\n

The last two weeks have thrust Vonn back onto the international stage as well as the podium, which she climbed in four of her first five races this season. That includes a spectacular win<\/a> in the downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 12.<\/p>\n

That marked her first World Cup victory since 2018. And now it\u2019s official that Vonn will compete in her fifth Olympics where she won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Games in Vancouver and bronze in the downhill in the 2018 Games in PyeongChang.<\/p>\n

Much of the astonishment circles back to her age. Vonn\u2019s win in St. Moritz made her the oldest woman to win a World Cup race \u2014 by seven years. Federica Brignone of Italy set a record a year ago when she won 10 races at age 34.<\/p>\n

She also is the first World Cup winner with titanium implants in her right knee<\/a>. And she\u2019ll become the first quadragenerian to lead the U.S. Alpine skiiing squad seven years after she had all but retired.<\/p>\n

In a moving column on Feb. 10, 2019, at the World Championships, The Times\u2019 Helene Elliott wrote what essentially was a sendoff <\/a>for Vonn: \u201cShe went all out to the very end, because that\u2019s the only way Lindsey Vonn<\/a> knew how to ski. She was bruised and battered as she went to the start gate on Sunday for the final race of her career, sore all over and her right eye blackened by the impact of a crash she suffered during a super-giant slalom race earlier in the week at the World Championships<\/a>. Her ligaments tore and her bones sometimes broke but her competitiveness was never dimmed, never dented, never compromised.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, 2026 is around the bend and Vonn is back and intact, her competitiveness never compromised still. She has not officially qualified for the Olympics in the super-G, but she\u2019s the fastest American and No. 3 in the world, so count on that as her next headline. <\/p>\n

\u201cLindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication, and the remarkable results she\u2019s delivered on the World Cup this season,\u201d Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski & Snowboard\u2019s president and CEO, said in a statement. \u201cShe\u2019s proven once again that elite performance isn\u2019t just about past success, it\u2019s about rising to the moment, race after race. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to cheer her on at the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n