Lindsey Vonn is back on top.
In the most remarkable milestone yet of her comeback, Vonn won the downhill at St. Moritz on Friday. It's her 83rd World Cup victory, and first since March 2018. Vonn skied into the safety net after crossing the finish line and collapsed into the snow, a wide grin on her face.
After getting up, she let out a scream and shook her fists in triumph. She then dropped a Steph Curry "night, night," putting her face in one hand and waving goodbye with the other.
Indeed, no one was going to top Vonn on this day. She finished almost a second head of surprise silver medalist Magdalena Egger of Austria, who started 27th. Vonn was more than a second ahead of Austria's Mirjam Puchner, the silver medalist in downhill at last year's worlds.
Vonn smiled and mugged for the cameras while waiting for the rest of the skiers to finish. She got congratulations from her good friend, Italy's Sofia Goggia, and Aksel Lund Svindal, the Olympic champion who became her coach in the offseason.
Lindsey Vonn takes a HUGE lead after a stunning downhill run in St Moritz! 🤩🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/mXnfagePrQ
— TNT Sports (@tntsports)December 12, 2025
The win is the most remarkable milestone yet in Vonn's comeback. The 41-year-old was forced to retire in 2019 because of injuries. She had a partial knee replacement in the spring of 2024 and felt so good afterward that she decided to try and make a run for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February.
Vonn's first season was up and down, culminating with a second-place finish in the super-G at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho. But with an entire off-season to train and dial in her equipment, Vonn said she was ready to contend.
She signaled that in training, when she posted the fastest time in the first run Wednesday. And she doubled down on that in Friday's race, serving notice she will be a favorite for gold in Cortina.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Lindsey Vonn is back on top! Gets first World Cup win since comeback