Lindsey Vonn Gives Honest Update After First Competition in Six Years: ‘It Was Amazing’

The professional skier is feeling encouraged following the Copper Mountain, Colo. competition.

Lindsey Vonn / Kristy Sparow/Getty Images

In Lindsey Vonn’s own words, her return to professional skiing has “been an amazing journey so far.” But it hasn’t been easy—and it won’t be easy going forward, either.

In her update, Vonn explained that qualifying for a World Cup race requires professional skiers to achieve a score of 80 points or lower—a metric that determines whether athletes “have the capable level of competing in speed events.” When the former Olympian was at the top of her game (and No. 1 in the world), she reached zero points. Coming out of a six-year retirement, by contrast, Vonn is sitting at about 100 points or so.

She took part in her first competition in more than half a decade this past weekend in the hopes of achieving 80 points or less—and becoming World Cup eligible. And at Copper Mountain, Colo., she did just that. Vonn didn’t notch the same times in either the downhill or super-G races that she would have six years ago, but she was nonetheless pleased with her performance. “I know a lot of people were saying I was slow, but I actually thought it was amazing,” she said in her comeback update.

It was the same sentiment that she shared on X, formerly Twitter, on the afternoon after the race. “Today was a solid start and I had a blast being in start with my teammates again,” she wrote on the platform. “While I’m sure people will speculate and say I’m not in top form because of the results, I disagree. This was training for me. I’m still testing equipment and getting back in the groove. This is only the beginning and the way I’m skiing is more important than the times at this point. Now I have the fis points to race World Cup so that’s a successful day!”

This coming weekend, the World Cup races will return to Beaver Creek, Colo., the site of her World Cup win in December 2011. Vonn won’t be among the athletes competing for a podium finish, though. “I didn’t get my points in time, and also I’m not really ready,” she explained on Instagram.

Though she won’t be competing, Vonn will serve as a forerunner for the event, testing out the downhill and super-G courses ahead of the races. She’s viewing the role as a “test” of her abilities. She wants “to see if her body can handle” the challenges presented by what is a difficult World Cup course in Beaver Creek.

Vonn has yet to give any indication when she will return to the World Cup races, but she’s working towards her big comeback.