Lindsey Vonn was 10th fastest in a training run on Thursday for her first World Cup downhill in six years.
Three weeks after the 40-year-old’s World Cup comeback in a super-G, Vonn completed the 2km Karl Schranz course 2.55 seconds behind Federica Brignone of Italy. The American, who is racing on a titanium knee, was clocked at close to 68 mph at a fast section of the hill where she won a downhill in December 2007.
A second practice is planned on Friday before the race on Saturday.
Vonn has won 43 World Cup downhills – a record for men and women – among her 82 career wins, a total that puts her third on the all-time list. Mikaela Shiffrin, who is recovering after a crash at a race last month, has 99 and Ingemar Stenmark won 86 in the 1970s and 1980s. Vonn was also the Olympic downhill champion at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
Vonn retired in February 2019 after the world championships in Sweden. Her surprise comeback is building back to a return in her favored downhill event. She placed 14th with a cautious run in the super-G on 21 December at St Moritz, and a scheduled second race was canceled due to poor weather.
Vonn should also compete next week at Cortina d’Ampezzo – the women’s course for the 2026 Olympics, where she won six downhills and six super-Gs – and aims to qualify for the world championships next month in Saalbach.