Lindsey Vonn has ‘perfect start,’ places 14th in World Cup return

21 Dec 2024, 21:01 by John Bagratuni, dpa · The Fresno Bee

American speed queen Lindsey Vonn returned to World Cup skiing after almost six years by placing a credible 14th in a Super-G in Switzerland that was won by Austrian Cornelia Hütter on Saturday.

Vonn, 40, trailed early on and appeared to have a small mistake in the mid-section of the sun-drenched course in St. Moritz, but she smiled broadly when she crossed the finish line, pumping her fists and waving amid huge applause from the fans and other skiers.

Injury-plagued Vonn originally retired in February 2019 after a then-women's record 82 World Cup race victories, an Olympic gold and two world titles.

She is now back after partial knee replacement surgery in April, but it appeared that she didn't ski at 100% in her first World Cup race, which came after four lower-tier events and being a forerunner last weekend for women's World Cup races in Beaver Creek, Colo.

Vonn finished 1.18 seconds behind Hütter, who claimed a second season victory and eighth overall, .18 of a second ahead of of Swiss Olympic Super-G champion Lara Gut-Behrami.

Italy's Sofia Goggia, who had won the first race in the discipline in Beaver Creek, completed the podium in third, .33 off the pace.

"Today was the perfect start. I had a solid run, got to the finish," Vonn said.

"The first one is the hardest. I felt really good. The course was a little bit bumpy when I went, so in some sections I was a little more conservative with my lines. But in some sections, I was really fast.

"There's definitely a lot that I have left to give, I just wanted to get to the finish today and be solid."

The veteran admitted to a few pre-race jitters due to the long absence since her last World Cup race in January 2019.

"I was a little bit stressed, I was a little bit behind," Vonn said. :I forgot a couple of things. It was hectic, I just hadn't done it in a while. But it was nice to feel the nerves again.

"It feels so good to have the nerves and to have the butterflies, the adrenaline to push yourself. I always feel it's just me against the mountain. I love that feeling.

"Tomorrow will be better now that I'm used to it," she said in reference to a second Super-G scheduled for Sunday in St. Moritz.