Lindsey Vonn named in US team for World Cup season despite uncertainty over future after injury

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Lindsey Vonn has been named in the US Alpine ski team for the 2026-27 World Cup season despite uncertainty over her future in the sport following a horrific injury.

The American great ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at a World Cup race before competing in the downhill event at the Winter Olympics this February, where she crashed heavily and sustained multiple complex leg injuries.

She has since documented her recovery including the eight surgeries she underwent, and has refused to rule out a return to the sport despite the severity of her injuries, with her leg almost requiring amputation.

She retired in 2019 and had a knee replacement before coming back and rapidly re-established herself at the top of the sport. She was ranked 12th overall last season and ultimately finished fifth in the downhill World Cup standings having led them going into Milan-Cortina, while she was also the highest ranked American skier in the super-G.

The three-time Olympic medallist has been named in the US squad for this season, with the team saying in a statement that all named athletes had qualified ⁠based on existing Alpine criteria. ​

Vonn, who will be 42 ⁠this month, said in April she was unsure if she would return to competitive ski racing.

She said: “I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions or even speculate on what I might do. I may retire. I may never race again and that would be completely fine, but I’m not in a position emotionally to make that decision at this point.

“I can deal with a lot of pain, but this was so extreme. It’s not even been in the universe of pain with this injury as what I’ve had before.”

She also suggested any return would not come before the 2027-28 season, adding: “Regardless, nothing would really happen until ’27-28 because I still have one more surgery left to take out the metal and to replace my ACL. That still needs to happen.

“Once I get my ACL fixed, then that’s another six months, so I have at least I would say a year and a half ahead of me before I could really be back to 100%, even just training in the gym.”

The ‌World Cup season ⁠starts in Soelden, Austria, with ⁠a giant slalom on 24 October. The ‌first downhill race ​is at Beaver ‌Creek, Colorado on ​11 December.

Additional reporting by Reuters