Lindsey Vonn Was #1 in the World When She Crashed. Will She Ever Race Again?

0:00I really never expected to come back and the only reason I did is because of the knee replacement. But I was definitely hoping for a much different ending this time around. I actually was like, okay, this is going to be the perfect ending, you know, and it almost was.

0:20Lindsey Vonn has spent her entire life going faster, pushing harder and refusing to accept the limits other people put on her. She started skiing at three years old, became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in the downhill, and retired in 2019 as one of the greatest skiers in history. And then she came back. At 41, after years of injuries and a major knee replacement, Lindsay returned to racing with one goal, another shot at Olympic gold. And it looked entirely possible because she was ranked number one in the world downhill standings heading into Milan Cortina. But just days before the 2026 Olympic Games began, she crashed and ruptured her ACL.

1:04Suddenly, she had a decision to make. Was it worth risking everything to race? She decided it was. And then, on the Olympic downhill, she crashed again. So what happens when you risk everything for one more shot, and you don't get the ending you imagined? Today, we're talking about ambition, aging, pain, resilience, and what it means to keep going when the world tells you it's time to stop. And of course, we ask the big question, is this it or is she coming back? I'm Maria Sharapova, and this is Pretty Tough.

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3:23Lindsay, welcome to Pretty Tough. I'm sitting across an ultimate badass, and I'd probably rename this episode Pretty Fucking Tough because you're sitting across from me. Thank you so much for joining. You are like the ultimate compliment to grit and grace, and you've been such a strong example of that throughout your entire career. So I'm so excited about this conversation. Thank you. I love starting these segments with a quote by the guest. And there's... You're laughing already. Which one did you choose? I chose one from last year. And you say, quote, no one expects me to do anything, but also everyone expects me to do everything.

4:05And you said this in the context of your Olympic bid. But I think that contradiction is so relatable to so many women. and talk about how it is to handle such ridiculous expectations. I feel like it's kind of always been that way, but especially so when this come back. I mean, on the one hand, everyone was kind of tearing me down because I'm too old and, you know, I'm not going to do anything. But at the other hand, they expect me to do everything. And if I don't do everything, then I'm a disappointment. So I felt like in some ways it was a lose-lose from the outside. But for me, it was a win-win because I knew I was going to exceed everyone's expectations anyway because I have obviously high expectations of myself.

4:53But I do feel like that contradiction exists for so many people, especially women. What is something that you are capable of today in your 40s, post the Olympics, that would surprise people? I mean, my forehand's not that good, but my backhand's not bad. You and me, girl. I could say the same thing about my forehand and the same thing about my backhand. I think you're not in the same conversation as me, but I don't know. Sorry, I'm on the bunny hill, so we're even. We're speaking the same language. Okay. No matter what age we are, as we get a little bit older, we certainly feel it. Like throughout your career and now in your 40s and as part of this comeback, what were some of the things that you noticed in your body?

5:46And what were some of the differences you noticed in your training than maybe 10, 15 years ago? I mean, it was funny because I honestly expected it to be a lot worse. I expected to be more tired and for things to wear me out. more quickly than they used to. But because I'd had my knee replacement, physically, I actually felt a lot better than I had the last five, six years of my career before because I finally could work out harder. Like I was injured almost every single year for the last five or six years of my career. So physically, I felt amazing. I actually think my body responded also better to the training.

6:30I don't know if it's because I finally like grew into myself, you know, but I like had better muscle tone and I kind of finally lost like the baby fat. And I don't know why it took me to my 40s for that. Let's clarify that you lost it in your late 30s. Literally, I was like, what is going on here? But, you know, I actually did more runs skiing than I did again at the end of my career because I physically could. I tried not to like push myself too hard because mentally I feel like I'm younger than I am physically. So that's always kind of my issue, not just with age, but in general, you know, like my mind thinks that I can do a certain thing and I need to like keep the reins on.

7:19So even more so that because I was older, I was like, I need to be to be careful but shockingly everything went much better than I expected despite the age so you were able to push through training grind through the endurance workouts were you sore yeah but like honestly not as much as I thought and I loved it I'm maybe I'm a little bit she is super human for pain I don't know but I like the actually when I got hurt after the Olympics I was driving back home and I was coming up the hill to my house and I thought god I would love to do a hill sprint right now and then I thought to myself what is wrong with me why do I want to do that right now even in excruciating pain I was like what is but I think there's just something for me that's like really therapeutic mentally to be working hard and be singularly focused so like the work ethic the pain like grinding it out in the gym was always something that I actually enjoyed because I felt like I got so much out of it and I was so present and focused and you're not on your phone you're not thinking about emails like that was the one thing in retirement that I really struggled with is like there's no time really unless you carve out time in the gym or like you have a specific amount of time where you're meditating where you actually are present.

8:43We're being pulled in so many different directions. So agree. And with sports, it's nice because you can kind of be in this like bubble. And also because we know, I mean, there are people that play sports and can be distracted and check their phone every 15 minutes. But because of our experience, we know that to be elite and to be the best of the best, we can't have any distractions. And the phone is a big piece of it. Honestly, it's a huge distraction and I think this next generation of athletes it's become harder I mean Instagram and Facebook kind of just came out when I won the Olympics and everyone was just kind of getting used to it and now it's such a part of daily life that you can't no one's actually like present they're always on their phones and they're never in the moment and sports is one of the few things where you actually get that.

9:39You have to be immersed. Yeah, exactly. I remember a moment finishing a match at the US Open. It was like a third or fourth round. I win the match, I get to the locker room and I see players sitting there that have just lost a match on their phone, on Twitter, checking comments, looking at photos. And just imagine the scrutiny, the emotional exertion. I mean, you've just lost in front of thousands of people. And now to hear and see what what everyone else has to say. It's almost like let's take a beat. Let's think about how we feel. And then open up to constructive criticism. Yeah. Or just plain criticism.

10:18Most of the time is plain criticism. Yeah. And that is something that's hard for me is not to look at it, like not to look at those comments. I definitely take time or try to take as much time as I can after I race or just to be in the moment, especially in this comeback, because I wanted to really enjoy it, you know, and I knew there was going to be a lot of criticism. So I was trying to block it out. But it's such a challenge. I mean, I feel like especially the people on Twitter, it's like there's not many positive voices out there. It's mostly people that are yelling like profoundly disgusting things at you.

11:00And of course, that's part of the job. And we all accept that. We know that. But I feel like it just continues to get more and more extreme. And it's hard to deal with. And how much is too much, like ultimately? Like where's the line? So let's go back. It's 2019. You retire from competitive ski racing. Obviously didn't stick for too long. But let's talk about that decision. And in the context of being a professional female athlete for many years, from personal experience, we do occasionally paint this picture of a perfect ending. I remember it's what got me through workouts, that last push on the treadmill, in a hotel gym, five in the morning jet lagged, where you just don't want to keep going.

11:47You know, it's been a tough few weeks on the road. And then all of a sudden, this image of yourself at match point, winning this like ferocious point, you're victorious, you're on your knees, you hug your team, and you get through that workout. And then you have this vision of what that ending looked like. Did you ever have that version of a perfect ending in your career? I think my ending in 2019 at the world championships I got a bronze medal and I was racing with multiple fractures and no LCL on my left knee and I think that was about as good as it could have gotten considering where I was physically at that time but I did feel like I got to say goodbye you know I did feel like it was closure I felt good about the decision it was a hard decision but I felt really good about it.

12:41I knew I physically couldn't do this anymore. And I never, I really never expected to come back. And the only reason I did is because of the knee replacement. But I was definitely hoping for a much different ending this time around. I actually was like, okay, this is going to be the perfect ending, you know, and it almost was. I mean, this last season was so much more than I expected. And, you know, to be number one in the world again was incredible. But I never in a million years would have thought that it ended the way it did. And so, you know, yes, I pushed really hard through all the workouts, imagining this fairytale ending that that never came to be.

13:32But it was still, I think, the best experience of my life. And I would never change the decisions that I made and how I approached it and what I did. Goosebumps hearing you say that. There's an element of letting go when you're an athlete. Like a lot of it is control and you control, you know, your training and the team that you choose to work with. but there are a lot of things that we have no control over over the years have you learned to lose sight of that control or are you still very much like I want it this way I'm a perfectionist this is my outcome what's your relationship well in both I mean I think in ski racing there are so many variables that we can't control that I let go of those, but I try to maybe hyper control the things I can.

14:29Like my routine is really important to me. It's one of the few things I can do that I know that I'm mentally prepared when I'm entered the starting gate. You know, we could have delays for two, three, four hours and you have to continuously be mentally ready, mentally and physically ready to start at any moment. So we can't control that, but I can control how I prepare and that gives me a lot of confidence you know it's it's hard like in ski racing you don't have much to rely on like at least in tennis I feel like now you you can close the roof and if it's raining you know you know approximately you're going to go on at a certain time obviously if the person before you their matches later but even then you're like I've I've strung my rackets to a certain tension because I expected this.

15:20So this element of pivoting, right, of being open to change and knowing that you might have to. Yeah. You always have to be ready. So like I feel like I prepare so that I'm ready for anything and I'm old enough and wise enough to like not freak out. You know, like I think a lot of the athletes, they either like I already know they're out of the game. Like as soon as there's the delay, they're done. You know, mentally, they're not focused anymore. Check those 20 athletes done. And some just can't pivot, you know, and it's really I think the mental side of sports is so interesting to me because.

15:59You can see it must have been so interesting in their eyes. You can see it. You're like, I got you. You're so dumb. Even in the coin toss. You're so scared. There's like no happy feet there. They're like glued to the ground. You're like, I know you're nervous. Yes, it is very clear. You have no poker face. So true. You touched upon it briefly in the beginning, but when you came back after retirement, there were a lot of skeptics. People asked you questions about why you're coming back and did you have the right intentions? Are you doing this for fame? Are you doing this for money? What is it? And it's from the sidelines as someone that competed for so many years, it's incredibly frustrating.

16:47Why do you think people in general are threatened by women that want more and women that get more? It's a really great question. And I really don't understand because men do it. you know, Brady, Lewis, like there's so many athletes on the, on the men's side that continue to push the limit and continue to compete at an older age and at the highest level. But for some reason for women, it's not okay. I think we, we have these social norms that were just, some of them that were so glued to, like you have to start a family by a certain time or, you know it's like life is supposed to work in a certain timeline and i think because maybe that was true yeah 20 like 15 20 years ago yeah but it's not it's not now i mean life expectancy is so much longer you know there's so much advancement in medicine and egg freezing and you know there's so many things that we can do uh as women to allow ourselves to be able to have a family later in life that we can focus on our careers.

17:59And it's not just athletes. It's obviously so many women that are driven, like my sister has her own company and she's 37. And, but still, there's so much outside societal pressure that she's late for something. And so there's this like weird stress that we have that we shouldn't have. And it, it's, I don't know. I just feel like we should have the opportunity to say, okay, now is the time. I'm ready. Doesn't matter how old we are. This is what I want to do. And also I think it's really interesting to have your career, build your nest egg, build your home, and then be able to take the time and like be a parent and not have to work as hard, not have to juggle so many things.

18:44I mean, that's obviously a luxury, you know, that, that I'm, you know, very thankful that I I've done enough in my career that I can do that. But I think that's an interesting concept to think about. But I don't know why we get so fixated on what women can and can't do, as opposed to just saying, let's all do what makes us happy and empower each other and support each other. As a collective. But you're the perfect example of turning people's doubt into fuel. But not many women have that confidence. Is there like when you're sitting across from your sister, and she has those doubts and insecurities or questioning her next move, what do you say to her?

19:26I'm like, you have time. It's not a big deal. You're going to be totally fine. You know, like you're focused on your career. You're going to have a family. Everything's going to work out the way it's supposed to, but she's still, no matter how many times I say that, it's like, oh, all my friends have kids. You know, I'm the only one that doesn't. And same Same with me. I'm like the only one that doesn't have kids. So it's as much as I want to pretend that it's not a problem. It's still like I asked at dinner, like, how many kids do you have? I'm like, I don't have any yet. Oh, it's like this let down.

20:04But even when you have your first, you know what the next question will be? When is your second? Yeah, it never stops. You're like a baby making machine. Maria, just pump them out. Come on. You're an athlete. Wait, just me?

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22:24I want to go back a few months, this few weeks during the Olympics, until a moment where you're, I would probably call it, and correct me if I'm wrong, your worst, where you're physically in pain, you're in the hospital bed, and you document your recovery. And I want to talk about that because in a moment when you're so vulnerable, when you try to be as present but you're thinking about the past and you're thinking about the future, you've said that the moments that you shared with your fans and the world of your recovery was therapy for you. How come? I had so many emotions sitting in the hospital that I just wanted to get out and I didn't know what was happening outside of the hospital walls I didn't know really what people were saying I didn't look because I couldn't like I was bedridden and there was no tv in the ICU and And I didn't have my phone for a while, but I just felt like I needed to express myself.

23:37And if I held in these emotions, it was like eating me inside. And because, you know, the world was watching me and it was, I expected so much from myself. And I think a lot of people hoped the best for me. I just felt like I needed to say how I felt in that moment. And like my first Instagram post, I was it was late at night and I was so tired and I was obviously on a lot of medications. I didn't even know if any of the words made sense. I just literally was pouring everything out. Did you press send? No. And then I gave it to my sisters because I was like, I'm going to fall asleep right now.

24:23but if you think it's good can you just push the post button and um I look I'm like falling asleep and I look over and they're both crying and I was like okay so it's okay they're like yep we just posted it so I don't know I I it was emotional it was therapeutic I in a lot of ways you know I I journal a lot and I think for me it was like a form of journaling but on a public forum because it was important to me I don't know maybe that's not the way everyone else would do it but that's how I felt was the most helpful for me to express myself and it was almost like a relief that I was able to just get it out but you've crashed many times just a couple why did it feel different this time in terms of what you wanted to share?

25:21I generally am not someone that is very filtered. I usually just say what's on my mind, which sometimes is helpful, sometimes not so helpful. But I guess I felt like it warranted more. And also I felt like I needed to express more because I felt such deep emotions because I, that journey was so special to me and that Olympics was so special to me. And I was so disappointed and heartbroken, but yet so thankful for the journey and for the opportunity. It was what I needed to do. And also perhaps for the people that did follow you, that were pushing for you, that wanted you to be at the podium, And I did get a lot of messages from a lot of friends and from people that I would never have expected, you know, to hear from.

26:18And they all said, you know, we're crying. We're here for you. And I didn't want people to cry. I was so thankful for what I had. And, yes, it was a horrible situation. But, like, I wanted to take the risk. and I was 100 % aware of what could happen. As a ski racer, we're all aware of what can happen. But I didn't want anyone to feel bad for me. I didn't want anyone to cry. I wanted them to say, I'm going to try too, even if I don't get the outcome that I hope for. So that was really what I wanted to get across. I'm like, don't cry for me. Let's just have hope. I love this point because as someone that competes at a high level in sports or their profession, there is this feeling of I'm doing this because I know my limits and I know what I can do.

27:12I believe and I trust in the process and I trust, I deeply trust that the outcome will fall into place. But you know that people around you will feel sad and will cry and ride or die with you. And I hated that emotion because I just wanted them to be happy. Yeah. for that's all we want that's all we want like I want people to be excited and happy and yeah athlete to athlete it is hard and you know your team like they're just as invested in what you're doing as you are and I don't like seeing that emotion I mean it's a hard because you know like we understand what we're feeling and why we're feeling it but I don't want other people to get down or cry or feel disappointment in the same way that we do because they should be proud of what we all worked hard for and I think honestly that was one of the hardest parts was the disbandment of my team you know my the people that you know work so hard we work so hard together their season was over too their Olympics were over too they all just had to go home it's a lonely drive you know it's a lonely drive back yeah it's really it's it's for an athlete and for the team it's just there's no easy way through it but I don't I hope that people don't experience the the sadness that that we do I did have a laugh at your sister's video do you know which one I'm referring to oh yeah I think that's the most viral anyone's ever gone to the hospital I love the video your sister posted of the Italian men at the Italian hospital.

28:57It just put a really fun spin on things. She's like, I made this post. And I was like, oh, my God, what did you do? And the doctors came in shortly after before I had seen it. And they're like, you know, your sister's post. Sister's in trouble. You're not supposed to have phones in the ICU. But the young doctors, they did like it. I knew that it like hit a different level when um Diane Sawyer was like your sister's video oh my god my sister's video I mean she found a way to keep it lighthearted so bravo to her honestly it was like this may be TMI but like I am in bed and I can't I I have no control over things and like these gentlemen are helping me and I'm like I can't look at these men that are here like can we get some like female nurses to help me this is really embarrassing what i thought that's exactly what you wanted during your recovery oh my god but my sisters were just hilarious they're like oh another one you guys are 12 i mean you're medicated alongside very hot men what could go wrong lindsey i mean grid they couldn't understand us so it was fine okay a couple of years ago you said something incredible that I've been thinking about plenty of times over the course of your career you've obviously been nervous we're all nervous but I'm quoting you said you've never been afraid is that still true maybe I was afraid um probably one of the only times I've been afraid was in the hospital when but see the thing is I didn't know that I could have lost my leg so when I found that out I think it hit like another level and I was like wow that that could have happened and then I started to get more nervous about the next surgeries and because I had really found out more of the gravity of the situation you know for a while everyone was kind of keeping it really light and fluffy, which is hard to do, all things considered.

31:11But they didn't really give me the meat of it until later. And so once I found out everything, I was a bit shocked and definitely more nervous than I'd ever been for surgery and the recovery. And am I going to get my feeling back in my leg? Am I going to function normally? And also when I took the whatever the bandages off my scars I was like holy shit this is crazy and and you've seen a lot I've seen a lot and so I honestly looking at it when I looked at it that scared me because like this isn't my leg this isn't me this is this is someone else this is not happening I mean especially when I was in open.

32:02Anywho, moving on. So with a torn ACL going down a mountain at 90 miles an hour in your training run the day before the Olympic run, you're not afraid? No, not at all. Fucking love it. I knew what I was doing. I mean, I know that course, like the back of my hand, I don't, which is why the crash was so odd. I never would have thought that would happen. But in the training around the day before I was third. I was, I felt great. I wasn't even pushing myself that hard. I was very in control. My knee felt great. You know, I had done a lot of work with my therapist, Lindsay, also Lindsay, to get myself in a position that I could ski that way.

32:50And once I get in the starting gate, I'm not going to get in the starting gate unless I know what I'm doing and that my body can handle it and I knew that I could handle it and that's why I was there and that's why I wasn't afraid so how do you know what your limits are in anything you don't know until you push them I pushed them but I honestly like I didn't even really push my limits I just caught my arm like it wasn't even a limit that was pushed I think the limit that I pushed was actually more so getting an ear replacement and coming back to ski racing as a general concept because I don't know of any athlete that's in a professional sport or Olympic sport that's had a replacement and and been competitive but again you know like I know my limits physically and what I feel like I can do and I would never have set down that path if I didn't feel I could do it and for me that's why I crashed you know downhill skiing is not a is not for the timid you know we take a big risk but that's the game there's a lot of athletes that never raced downhill or tried and stopped because it's dangerous like the likelihood of injury is almost I would say a hundred percent so you know that odds are at one point you're not going to be walking away.