SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Lindsey Vonn concluded her comeback season at age 40 with a second-place finish in a World Cup super-G race Sunday that was won by Swiss standout Lara Gut-Behrami.
Vonn found her vintage form while flying down the twisting and steep Challenger course at the World Cup finals. The American pumped her ski poles after glancing at the scoreboard as the large crowd roared.
This was Vonn’s first World Cup podium spot since March 15, 2018, when she finished third in a super-G in Are, Sweden. Vonn came out of retirement this season after a partial knee replacement.
‘‘As much as I love skiing, it’s been a hard road,‘’ Vonn said after the race. “I just continue to prove that anything is possible. I’ve been knocked down so many times in my life personally, physically, mentally, beat down and I always pick myself back up. It’s not always easy.
‘‘It’s actually really (expletive) hard work. But that’s what it takes, putting one foot in front of the other and getting through the hard days. When you keep putting one foot in front of the other, it leads you to a place like today.‘’
Vonn becomes the oldest female Alpine ski racer to step on the podium of a World Cup race — by six years.
It was Vonn’s 138th career World Cup podium in her 408th World Cup start. She is within one of tying the most starts by a female racer, a mark held by Renate Goetschl of Austria.
Not that 34-year-old Italian racer Federica Brignone is all that surprised.
