How old is Lindsey Vonn? She’s .. as she chases history again

Lindsey Vonn is 41 years old—and that number has become a headline of its own as she competes on alpine skiing’s biggest stages again. The American star, born in the mid-1980s, is pushing into territory few downhill racers ever reach: contending at an age when most have long since stepped away, and doing it while managing a body that has endured years of knee damage and surgeries.

Vonn’s age matters right now because it frames everything around her comeback—how she trains, how she races, and what “success” looks like in a sport where fractions of a second can be the difference between a medal and the middle of the pack.

The direct answer: Vonn’s age in 2026

Lindsey Vonn was born October 18, 1984. As of Sunday, February 8, 2026 (ET), she is 41.

Why “41” is part of the story

In alpine skiing—especially downhill—experience can be a weapon, but age usually works against you. Reaction time, recovery, and the ability to repeatedly absorb heavy impacts become harder as seasons pile up. That’s why Vonn’s current run is being treated as more than nostalgia: she’s not just returning for a ceremonial start. She’s posting competitive times and chasing top finishes in a discipline that punishes hesitation.

Her situation is also unusually high-profile because she’s doing it on courses she knows intimately, with expectations shaped by a career that included major championship medals and years of dominating downhill.

The comeback context: retirement, knee replacement, return

Vonn stepped away from top-level racing in 2019 after chronic knee problems. Her return has been fueled by a long rehabilitation arc that included a partial knee replacement and a decision to re-enter competition after years away.

The technical challenge isn’t simply “getting fit.” It’s re-learning the routine of downhill at speed—training blocks, travel, repeated runs, and the constant recalibration of risk. At 41, the margin for recovery is thinner, which makes the consistency of her recent performances central to why the age question keeps coming up.

Injury risk is part of the headline again

Her comeback has also been shadowed by fresh injury concerns, including a recent ACL rupture that she has publicly described as complete. In downhill, knee stability is non-negotiable: landings, compressions, and aggressive edge angles all load the joint. Competing with a brace and a heavily managed plan adds another layer to what “41” means in practice—every run becomes a balancing act between competitiveness and self-preservation.

The combination of age plus injury doesn’t guarantee a result either way, but it does change how observers read her starts. A clean, committed run at her age is viewed not just as athletic performance, but as a statement that she can still access the courage and precision downhill demands.

What “oldest ever” actually means

The stakes aren’t only personal. Vonn is attempting to become one of the oldest Olympic alpine skiing medalists—a milestone that would stand out in a sport where medalists typically cluster much younger.

Even without a medal, the attempt itself is historically unusual: a skier in her 40s racing against fields filled with athletes who grew up watching her highlights. That dynamic is why her age is asked so often. It’s the simplest way to capture the scale of what she’s trying to do.

The forward look: what to watch next

Age in elite sport is never just a number—it’s a constraint that shows up in recovery, training volume, and how many risks you can take in a single week. For Vonn, the next signposts are concrete:

• whether she can keep posting competitive training and race splits,

• how her knee holds up through consecutive downhill days,

• and whether her experience can offset any physical limitations when conditions turn demanding.

At 41, Vonn’s edge is not only speed. It’s her ability to manage pressure, adapt line choices, and treat a single run like the only one that matters—because in downhill, it often is.

Sources consulted: Reuters, International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), Encyclopaedia Britannica, Biography.com