Lindsey Vonn Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Lindsey Vonn has announced a miraculous — and surprising — return to the slopes. 

Nearly six years after the Olympic gold medalist announced her retirement from skiing, Vonn, 40, has plotted an unexpected comeback. 

“My career ended with no intention of coming back,” Vonn told The New York Times in a story published Thursday, November 14. But after undergoing knee replacement surgery seven months ago, she began skiing again. 

To Vonn’s shock, she was able to do so free from pain. “I had a smile so wide it was coming through the back of my helmet,” Vonn said.

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Vonn will rejoin the United States ski team on Friday, November 15, a turn of events that she called “amazing and definitely not planned.”

Optimistically, Vonn hopes to begin competing in the World Cup circuit in the coming months with the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy looming in the distance. 

Lindsey Vonn Francis Bompard/Agence Zoom/Getty Images

“I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself because I have quite a few hoops to jump through,” Vonn said. “Obviously, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t hope to be racing. I have aspirations. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know.”

Vonn has logged 15 days of “on-snow race training” in Europe and New Zealand since August, and will participate in the U.S. team’s training sessions at Colorado’s Copper Mountain this weekend, focusing on the speed disciplines of super-G and downhill.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team triumphantly announced Vonn’s return on Thursday, saying she has “made an indelible mark on alpine skiing and our organization throughout her career.”

“We’re delighted to welcome her back,” Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard, said in a statement. “Her dedication and pᴀssion towards alpine skiing is inspiring and we’re excited to have her back on snow and see where she can go from here.”

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Lionel Hahn/Getty Images Lindsey Vonn decided to have knee replacement surgery after sustaining several injuries throughout her career. “After a lot of thought, research and talking to many many doctors, I made the decision to get a knee replacement,” the former Olympian, 39, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, April 9. “I have severe tri-compartment degeneration […]

A three-time Olympic medalist and former world champion, Vonn last competed in February 2019 at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Sweden, where she won a bronze in the women’s downhill. At the age of 34, Vonn became the oldest woman to win a medal at a world championship.

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Vonn had announced her retirement prior to the event, citing her long history with injuries. 

“The unfortunate reality is my mind and body are not on the same page,” Vonn said in a statement at the time. “After many sleepless nights, I have finally accepted that I cannot continue ski racing.”

She continued, “Over the past few years I have had more injuries and surgeries than I care to admit. I have always pushed the limits of ski racing and it has allowed me to have amazing success but also dramatic crashes.”