Vonn Ponders Comeback Comeback

The comeback from the comeback might not be over for Lindsey Vonn. In a candid podcast interview with NBC's TODAY show host Craig Melvin,  Vonn revealed she is still considering a return to ski racing — despite a devastating crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics that led to multiple surgeries on her broken leg.

"I never got a final run, I never got to say goodbye," the 41-year-old told TODAY. "I think it leaves a door slightly open. Maybe I would do one more race to say goodbye. Maybe I'll race again. It might be fun to do one more run. We'll see."

When pressed on whether she's seriously entertaining another comeback, Vonn quipped, "I mean, much to my family's dismay, yes."

The statement comes just two months after one of the most dramatic moments in Olympic history. After an improbable comeback from retirement and a titanium knee replacement, the 41-year-old Vonn attempted the "impossible" by racing just nine days after a fresh ACL rupture at the women's downhill event in Cortina d'Ampezzo on February 8.

Seconds into her Olympic run, Vonn lost control after clipping a flag marking the side of the course, flew sideways in the air and hit her head on the ground. The crash resulted in a complex tibia fracture that required immediate airlifting from the mountain and multiple corrective surgeries.

Vonn revealed that the surgeries went well but that doctors "almost had to amputate her leg".

The Minneapolis native had already defied expectations simply by making it to the 2026 Olympics. She announced her comeback seven years after retiring, in November 2025, her knee made of titanium and her determination of steel . She quickly proved her return was no publicity stunt, winning two World Cup downhills this season and stepping on the podium in seven of eight races.

But her Olympic dreams were threatened when she completely ruptured her ACL during a World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 30 — just days before the Games began. Rather than withdraw, she announced she would compete anyway.

"As long as there's a chance, I'll try," she said at a packed press conference in Cortina 

The three-time Olympic medalist's resilience has become legendary in the skiing world. She won downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and bronze in the downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang Games. She ranks third on the all-time World Cup wins list with 82 victories.

Just 25 days after her Olympic crash, Vonn posted video of herself remarkably back in the gym, working out with her injured leg strapped.

"Definitely some hard times but still thankful… still working hard. The only goal is to get healthy. One day at a time," she wrote to her 3.5 million Instagram followers.

Whether Vonn will actually attempt another competitive run remains uncertain. Her recovery continues, and the extent of her injuries would make any return extraordinarily difficult. But if her career has taught the skiing world anything, it's never to count Lindsey Vonn out.

As she wrote after her crash: "Similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don't achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try."