Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn on Recovery & Comeback Hopes: “I Never Got to Say Goodbye…”

Against all odds, is Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn seriously considering the comeback of all comebacks?

After a disastrous 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that started with a torn ACL and ended with a complex tibia fracture after a harrowing crash — and no Olympic medals to speak of this time around — Vonn underwent multiple surgical procedures to literally save her leg, putting her future ski career in serious doubt.

In an April 7 TODAY interview with co-anchor Craig Melvin, the 41-year-old Alpine skier addressed her future in the sport, admitting that yes, she can “move on.”

“I can move on,” Vonn said. “I mean, it’s not a question of can I. I already have, you know? And I already retired for six years. Like, I know what it’s like to not be a ski racer anymore. It’s just that ski racing is something I love to do. And I had so much fun this season that — and I never got to — I never got a final run.”

Of course, Vonn is referring to the 2019 retirement that she ended in hopes of winning more Olympic gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Vonn faces a long road to recovery — but still managed to shock viewers by teasing that she may not hang up her skis permanently after all.

“I know I’ll be happy if I do ski race again. That’s no question. But I don’t know. It might be fun to do one more — one more run,” she explained. “We’ll see.”

Lindsey Vonn reveals whether she’s “entertaining” a skiing comeback

Lindsey Vonn cringes after crashing in the women's downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026. — Lindsey Vonn cringes after crashing in the women’s downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026.

When Melvin asked her if she was seriously floating the idea of another comeback, Vonn didn’t dance around the issue.

“I mean, much to my family’s dismay, yes,” she revealed. “I think it’s just something that — I mean, I’ve been, like I said, so isolated and not able to really live life outside of skiing. Like, I’m still kind of trapped in this, like, I didn’t have my Olympic dream situation … I need to walk and be out in public and, you know, be living life. And I think that will give me a different perspective. Right now I can’t say what the future holds because I can’t — my mind can’t get there yet.”

Since her exit from the 2026 Winter Olympics, the successful surgery to repair her broken tibia (and to address compartment syndrome), Vonn has gone back to work.

Vonn told Melvin that she follows a rigorous recovery program that includes two hours of therapy, two hours in a hyperbaric chamber, time in the gym, and more — and she isn’t taking any days off. “On repeat,” Vonn said of her rehabilitation schedule. “Every day.”

Despite unbelievable challenges, Vonn isn’t ruling out a return to the slopes. It sounds like she will do whatever it takes to return to form in the years to come — and that’s inspiring news for sports fans everywhere, especially as anticipation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles begins to grow.

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