Winter Olympics 2026: Training runs behind her, Lindsey Vonn looks to become an alltime legend Jeff Eisenberg February 7, 2026 at 5:12 AM 0 MILAN — Lindsey Vonn has built her career out of being fearless, out of pushing the limits between glory and physical ruin, out of taking risks that others would not. So there was no way the 41yearold American was going to play it safe Saturday on the eve of the most anticipated race of her life.
- - Winter Olympics 2026: Training runs behind her, Lindsey Vonn looks to become an all-time legend
Jeff Eisenberg February 7, 2026 at 5:12 AM
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MILAN — Lindsey Vonn has built her career out of being fearless, out of pushing the limits between glory and physical ruin, out of taking risks that others would not.
So there was no way the 41-year-old American was going to play it safe Saturday on the eve of the most anticipated race of her life.
Eight days after tearing an ACL in a cruelly timed crash in Switzerland, Vonn used her second and final training run before Sunday's downhill to test drive what her injured left knee could do. She charged out of the start and skied defiantly down the mountain in a session that was not mandatory and that she could have skipped if she feared aggravating her injury.
Vonn appeared satisfied with her run despite a slight bobble on the final portion of the course. She crossed the finish line in 1:38.28, third fastest among the first 13 skiers to take their runs to that point and more than two seconds faster than her training time from Friday. American Breezy Johnson sits atop the board with skiers still to come.
Expect Vonn to hurl herself down the mountain even more aggressively on Sunday with a global audience watching and more than just an Olympic medal at stake. She wouldn't just solidify herself as one of the greatest female ski racers if she somehow wins gold on a shredded knee. She'd shove her way onto the list of America's most legendary Olympians, shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Michael Phelps, Jesse Owens, Simone Biles and the 1980 U.S. Hockey team.
Vonn was already poised to be one of the faces of the Milan Cortina Winter Games even before she was airlifted off a mountain in Switzerland eight days ago. NBC has relentlessly promoted the four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist throughout her extraordinary comeback after nearly six years away from ski racing.
When Vonn initially retired in 2019, she said the physical toll of an array of injuries had become too much to bear. She had her right knee partially replaced in April 2024, hoping only to be able to live a normal, pain-free life again.
Lindsey Vonn takes part in a training for the women's downhill event. (François-Xavier MARIT / AFP via Getty Images) (FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT via Getty Images)
Vonn felt so much better with her repaired right knee that she made a stunning announcement in November 2024 that she was un-retiring. She has been dominant in downhill races this World Cup season and finished on the podium in two of her first three super-G races, raising hopes that she can contend for medals in both disciplines in Cortina.
Had she not crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics, Vonn would have been a favorite to win the gold medal on Sunday. Now she's trying to make a comeback within a comeback, trying to compete for a medal on a good knee made of titanium and a bad knee missing its main stabilizing ligament.
"This is not, obviously, what I had hoped for," Vonn said Tuesday. "I've been working really hard to come into these Games in a much different position. I know what my chances were before the crash, and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today, but I know there's still a chance and as long as there's a chance, I will try."
The training runs were critical steps for Vonn to test what her knee felt like coming into and out of the sharpest turns on the challenging Olympic downhill course in Cortina.
On Friday, in her first training run, Vonn test-drove her injured left knee and proved that a return to competition is realistic. She cruised down the mountain, crossing the finish line 11th fastest out of 47 skiers and impressing her coach with both her resilience and her conservative approach.
"She was smart, she didn't go all in," her coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, told reporters. "She made a mistake on the bottom, but the rest looked like good skiing. No big risk. To me, it looked symmetrical. I didn't see any differences (between her) right and left (side). That's what we were looking for today."
The prudent decision for Vonn might have been to stay off her knee on Saturday. Naturally, that's not the decision she made.
"On our way to work!" she posted to social media about 90 minutes before the training runs began. "Course looks good today, snow is a lot more firm. Should run quite a bit faster. Because of that, I've decided to start in the training run today. See you out there"
For days, Vonn has insisted that she believes she's capable of the unthinkable on Sunday, that she won't allow even one of the most feared injuries in sports to stop her in her quest for the perfect ending to her storied career. If she does it, she'll become an enduring symbol of resilience for years to come.
A gold medal, at 41, after tearing an ACL just over a week ago?
"I'm not letting this slip through my fingers," Vonn said earlier this week. "I'm going to do it, end of story."
Doubt her at your own risk.
Source: "AOL Sports"
Source: Sports
Published: February 07, 2026 at 01:27PM on Source: RED MAG
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