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.
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.
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.
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 ahead of 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 Saturday’s downhill: Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images)
