Beyond the headlines Vonn’s legacy has compelling subtitles.
Wow! Last weekend was a mind-blower. It left me with a lot of thoughts to unpack and not a lot of time to neatly fold and organize them before whatever this weekend brings.
Just last week I lamented that ski racing does not register in mainstream news. On my Saturday morning drive I realized that had all changed when NPR’s Weekend Edition featured Lindsey Vonn’s victory in the season’s opening Downhill in St. Moritz. At last count (thank you Steve Porino) Vonn had made 9.2 BILLION media impressions since her win.
The story wasn’t just circulating on the news. Texting threads with teammates sparked up, and no matter where sentiments ranged at this time last year, these texts coalesced around sheer awe. Friends who know next to nothing and care even less about ski racing checked in to register their delight. “Let’s hear it for middle aged- women!” said one. Ok, we’re talking middle-aged Super Women, but still. What Vonn has done, in coming back after a six year hiatus to reach the top of the podium at age 41 is, or rather was, inconceivable.
The podium on the second DH made its own bit of history—topped by Emma Aicher, who was born nearly two years AFTER Vonn competed in her first Olympics, and anchored by 33-year-old Sophia Goggia, who competed with Vonn in both of her eras. Together they spanned nineteen years of talent on the tour—breaking another previously unconsidered record.
ALL DOGS WELCOME
As any regulars in this space know, I don’t spend a lot of time on the big dogs, the superstars who get all the ink. Underdogs are my jam, but I’m also always looking for the nuance, the pieces of the big conversation that are missing or under-explored. The headline catching story is what Vonn has done for women’s sports and her own legacy. The undercurrent pulling my attention is the long- and short-term effect of Vonn’s return on her teammates.
I listened to all the interviews like a junkie. In Vonn’s pre-race interview in St. Moritz, she specifically called out Haley Cutler as an athlete she was helping. Cutler debuted on the World Cup last year at age 27 thanks to her 2024 Nor Am DH title, and scored her first World Cup point last spring in Kvitfjell. In St Moritz she scored personal bests and World Cup points in two of the three races, including her first Super G points. It’s no leap that Vonn’s support helped. I often talk about the power that comes from coaches who believe in you (like here in The Abundance Mentality). When that support comes from coaches and teammates, even superstar teammates, it’s a high octane fuel mix.
Every single American in the races scored at some point over the weekend in St. Moritz, and every single one has benefited in some way from Vonn’s return. Some, like Jackie Wiles are reaping the benefits for the second time. Vonn’s foundation helped Wiles in her early, unfunded days, when Vonn also took time to analyze and dissect video with her. Now Wiles, 33, enjoys more peer level back-and-forth with Vonn, sharing their experience. “It’s cool, because she respects us as athletes with how much success she’s had,” notes Wiles, who says that Vonn is engaged with her teammates, open to giving and receiving advice. “She has been a student of the sport her whole life…there’s always something you can learn from her.”
When interviewing athletes for this piece in Skiing History and others, they mentioned Vonn’s active mentorship, helping them on the hill with technique and tactics and off the hill with recovery and race-day management. That’s the direct help. The indirect effect on teammates of being able to train and compete alongside someone with that combination of success, experience and, now, perspective is rare and priceless. The rewards will be reaped for years to come.
For Lauren Macuga, 23, the ramifications of the shifting age paradigm kicked in when the IOC announced Salt Lake City as the host city of the 2034 Olympics. She did the quick math and realized she would be 32 for what would be her hometown Games. When Wiles was Macuga’s age, she could not imagine racing to age 32. Macuga’s first thought at the announcement, however, was automatic: “Oh, I’ll be 32 then. I’ll be in my prime, and you can keep going after that.”
FINDING THE BALANCE
It is undoubtedly a challenge to assemble the personal team and resources needed for World domination, and then to integrate that team with a national team. Having never borne the burden of super stardom or mini stardom I don’t know the particulars but I know that it is complicated. It is not all rainbows and unicorns, and it has certainly evolved from the early 2000’s when top US skiers traveled the tour in their own motor homes. At the very least it requires deliberate intent, but also the confluence of sensibilities and culture shared by athletes, coaches and support crew. It’s hard enough to put the pieces in place for your own success, but to do it in such a way that it brings the performance of your teammates up— that is a rare tale.
However it works, it’s working. And for insiders and outsiders alike it’s fun to watch.
There’s no catching Shiffrin in any scenario. Maybe Vonn will break Stenmark’s record, as she had hoped to do in Round 1, when injuries stopped her. But that’s really not the point. The point, or at least one of them, is that making history isn’t all about the numbers, and that a legacy isn’t just about the records you set and break. Making history is also about pioneering new territory and enriching the landscape that you leave behind.
Note: the original version said Vonn podiumed in the Super G. Oops! Thanks to my eagle eye editor and husband for catching that!