First Races Since 2019 Leave Lindsey Vonn Pleased

Up against the body of work of one of the greatest World Cup skiers of all time, the results of her two lower-level downhills in Colorado on Saturday weren't much to celebrate. But considered as training runs in a return to the US ski team, Lindsey Vonn pronounced the day a success, NBC Sports reports. "Today was a solid start and I had a blast being in start with my teammates again!" she posted online later. "While I'm sure people will speculate and say I'm not in top form because of the results, I disagree. This was training for me." She added, "This is only the beginning and the way I'm skiing is more important than the times at this point."

Vonn finished 24th and 27th on Saturday in the FIS-level events—below top-level World Cup. She was the 39th starter in fields of 43, finishing 1.44 seconds and 1.53 seconds behind Austrian winners Mirjam Puchner and Cornelia Huetter. Vonn last competed in February 2019, stopping after a series of injuries, per AFP; treatment included a knee replacement. A small crowd came to watch the Olympic gold medal winner Saturday and applauded at the finish. Vonn bent over to catch her breath, per the AP, then signed autographs before taking the lift back up. (Mikaela Shiffrin is sidelined after a crash in Vermont.)