Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin fuel US 2026 Winter Olympics hopes

Lindsey Vonn of the United States during the Super G alpine skiing race in the 2025 World Cup at Sun Valley. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED Apr 01, 2025, 11:08 AM

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LOS ANGELES – Podium finishes at the World Cup Finals for American skiers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin have underlined their enduring standards and gave their country a real lift ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Sophie Goldschmidt, chief executive of the US Ski and Snowboard Association.

Vonn, 40, announced her comeback in November after retiring in 2019 and returned to the podium for the first time since then with a second-place finish in the super-G at the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley in March.

“It was a fantastic way for her to end the season. I knew she had it in her, and she came back really in a strong way at the beginning of the season,” Goldschmidt told Reuters.

“She is one of the great icons across all of women’s sports. And to be doing at 40, with a lot of naysayers, a lot of people were questioning it. It was clear to see that she could get back to the top, but she’d been out for over six years.”

Shiffrin, Olympic gold medallist at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Games, wrapped up her injury-marred season by winning the slalom on March 27 for a record-extending 101st career World Cup victory.