Superstar Lindsey Vonn Thrills - Takes Second in World Cup Finals Super-G

Lindsey Vonn thrilled the crowd in Sun Valley, Idaho - taking second in the women's super-G at the 2025 Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals.

Mar 23, 2025; Sun Valley, ID, USA; Lindsey Vonn of the United States celebrates on the podium after her second place finish in the Super G alpine skiing race in the 2025 FIS Ski World Cup at Sun Valley. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images / Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

The 2025 Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals

American superstar ski racer, Lindsey Vonn, capped her comeback to World Cup racing by finishing second in the super-G in the World Cup Finals on Sunday. The 40-year-old phenom electrified the adoring crowd in Sun Valley, Idaho – home of the 2025 Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals.

American Superstar Lindsey Vonn

After retiring from competitive skiing in 2019 following a remarkable and highly decorated career, Lindsey Vonn returned to the United States Ski Team in 2024 when she competed in two Super-G races in St. Moritz. Her comeback to competitive racing has been remarkable after a knee replacement during her retirement. She finished 14th in the super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland last December, and then finished 6th in the downhill and 4th in the super-G in St. Anton, Austria, in January.

With these results, Vonn qualified for the season-ending World Cup finals in both Downhill and super-G. Her silver medal performance marked an unbelievable fairy-tale ending to her comeback season.

Super-G - Challenger Course, Sun Valley, Idaho

The 40-year-old Vonn finished second in the super-G behind Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami. Gut was unstoppable in taking the season title in the discipline ahead of Italian star Federica Brignone. This was Vonn’s best finish in her comeback. Vonn got stronger throughout the race, posting the second-best time in the third section and the third-best in the final section of the demanding course to edge Brignone for second.

Vonn’s time of  1:13.64 on the Challenger course on Bald Mountain in Sun Valley, Idaho was 1.29 seconds behind Gut-Behrami’s lightning-fast run of 1:12.35. This was her first World Cup podium finish since March 15, 2018, when she finished third in a super-G in Åre, Sweden. Federica Brignone finished third, just 0.04 seconds behind Vonn.

Mar 23, 2025; Sun Valley, ID, USA; Lindsey Vonn of the United States during the women's Super G alpine skiing race in the 2025 FIS Ski World Cup at Sun Valley. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images / Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

“I really wanted to do well at home,” Vonn told NBC Sports’ Heather Cox after the race. “It’s very rare in my career that I’ve ever been able to ski a speed event on home soil. The snow is just like home in Vail (Colorado) for me. I felt really comfortable on it.”

The World Cup finals represent the season’s final event, comprised of the top 25 Men and top 25 Women in the disciplines of Downhill, super-G, Giant Slalom, and Slalom. The champions in each discipline, and the overall winner for both men and women, are crowned throughout the week of racing in Sun Valley.

Federica Brignone won the downhill season title Saturday when the event was canceled due to high winds.

Vonn thrived in the pressure-packed environment on Sunday. “I usually do better when the pressure is higher,” Vonn said. “It’s the last race of the season, I just put it all on the line. This is the level I know I can ski. I know I can even do better than that.”

With the historic performance, Vonn became the oldest woman ever to stand on a World Cup Alpine skiing podium. Vonn hopes to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2026 games in Italy and will return to retirement.

Mar 23, 2025; Sun Valley, ID, USA; Lindsey Vonn of the United States celebrates on the podium after placing second in the Super G alpine skiing race in the 2025 FIS Ski World Cup at Sun Valley. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images / Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Vonn’s long list of racing accomplishments include four World Cup overall championships in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012, making her the third most decorated female World Cup skier in history. Vonn won the Olympic gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics – the first for an American woman. She added eight World Cup season titles in downhill, five titles in super-G, and three consecutive titles in the combined. In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup Crystal Globe title. Vonn’s 82 World Cup victories stood as a women's record until January 2023 when it was surpassed by Mikaela Shiffrin.

Sunday’s performance put Vonn on a podium for the 138th time. Only Shiffrin (156) and Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark (155) have more podiums in World Cup history. With the Olympics less than 11 months away, she looks very capable of making the U.S. Team and adding to her enormous medal success.

“It’s been a rough season of people saying that I can’t (compete at a high level), that I’m too old, that I’m not good enough anymore,” she said, “and I think I’ve proved everyone wrong.”

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