BREAKING BARRIERS: LINDSEY VONN’S RETURN TO RACING

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A Double Standard in Sports

When Tom Brady played in the NFL well beyond the age of 40, no one questioned his sanity for facing 300-pound defensive linemen. When Lewis Hamilton, at 40, got behind the wheel of a Ferrari Formula 1 car, no one told him he was too old for elite racing. Even Marcel Hirscher’s return to ski racing after five seasons away didn’t raise eyebrows. Yet, when Lindsey Vonn made her comeback at 40, she was met with skepticism and outright criticism.

Unwarranted Criticism

Before Vonn even returned to com­pe­ti­tion, for­mer Olympic cham­pi­on Michaela Dorfmeis­ter pub­licly sug­gest­ed she “should see a psy­chol­o­gist,” while Aus­tri­an ski­ing leg­end Franz Klam­mer called her deci­sion “com­plete­ly mad.” Four-time over­all World Cup cham­pi­on Pirmin Zur­briggen ques­tioned whether she had lost direc­tion in her life out­side of ski­ing.

Vonn, how­ev­er, was unfazed by the doubters. “I don’t think I real­ly deserved the dis­re­spect­ful com­ments to the degree that they were giv­en. Of course, I expect­ed ques­tions about my knee. That’s a valid con­cern,” she said, ref­er­enc­ing her recon­struct­ed right knee. “But ques­tion­ing my per­son­al choic­es, my psy­cho­log­i­cal state, and my life out­side of ski­ing was com­plete­ly inap­pro­pri­ate. No one asked Mar­cel Hirsch­er if he need­ed to see a psy­chol­o­gist. That was only direct­ed at me. And that’s pret­ty messed up.”

Defying Limits and Proving Her Place

Ski rac­ing is an extreme sport, and Vonn’s events, down­hill and super‑G, push ath­letes to speeds of over 80 mph (130 kph). But age has nev­er been a lim­it­ing fac­tor for men. In 2023, Johan Clarey, at 42, fin­ished sec­ond in the leg­endary Hah­nenkamm down­hill. Vonn’s per­for­mances this sea­son, fin­ish­ing sixth and fourth in St. Anton, Aus­tria, prove she still belongs among the elite.

A Different Reception at Home

While Euro­pean crit­ics have ques­tioned her return, the response in the U.S. has been over­whelm­ing­ly sup­port­ive. “Every­one has been real­ly sup­port­ive. It’s hon­est­ly only in Europe that I’ve had any sort of crit­i­cism,” Vonn said.

More impor­tant­ly, her come­back has inspired women every­where. “A lot of women my age are real­ly hap­py that I’m doing this. It means a lot to them,” she said. “We don’t have to fol­low a time­line. We can still be ambi­tious. Just because we’re 40 doesn’t mean it’s over.”

Looking Ahead: A Historic Team-Up?

Beyond her indi­vid­ual races in the super‑G and down­hill, Vonn has her sights set on an excit­ing team event at the world cham­pi­onships. She hopes to pair with Mikaela Shiffrin in the new team com­bined event on Feb. 11, where one rac­er com­petes in down­hill and the oth­er in slalom.

With a com­bined 181 World Cup vic­to­ries, Vonn and Shiffrin would form one of the most accom­plished duos in ski rac­ing his­to­ry. “I think it would be one of the coolest things in ski rac­ing,” Vonn said. “If there’s a chance to com­pete with Mikaela, I would absolute­ly love to.”

If Shiffrin isn’t ready, Vonn has anoth­er mean­ing­ful option: Paula Moltzan, a fel­low ski­er from their shared home­town of Buck Hill, Min­neso­ta. “That would be real­ly cool,” Vonn said. “But I’d be hap­py with any of my team­mates.”

Women Can Do Anything At Any Age

Lind­sey Vonn’s return is about more than ski rac­ing. It’s a tes­ta­ment to per­se­ver­ance, self-belief, and the idea that women can chase their dreams at any stage of life. The nar­ra­tive that she “shouldn’t” or “can’t” is out­dat­ed – and she’s prov­ing it with every race.