Lindsey Vonn featured on cover of 'Time' magazine ahead of Olympic World Cup season: “I like it when the stakes are high"

Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable alpine skiing comeback is undeniably one of the biggest stories heading into Milano Cortina 2026. Case in point—Vonn graces the cover of the newest issue of Time magazine, released Monday (27 October).

In the extensive interview in Time, the Olympic champion (Vancouver 2010) and three-time medallist reflects on her storied career, her 2019 retirement, and the injury challenges that led to a successful knee replacement, one that exceeded her expectations and ultimately led to her return to competition at age 40. She's now 41.

Vonn also speaks candidly about embracing her age, the profound influence of her late mother, and her confidence in her pursuit of another Olympic gold.

“I am not a long shot," she declares. “I am back in the game.”

Olympic gold and silver medallist Picabo Street, one of Vonn’s most vocal supporters, backs her friend’s confidence: “She’s going to win one of them, if not more,” Street says in the piece. “It’s not a matter of 'if,' it’s when.”

Read more highlights from Vonn’s Time Magazine interview below.

Lindsey Vonn: All alpine ski titles, records, and medals - complete list

Exclusive - Lindsey Vonn feeling 'optimistic' ahead of Milano Cortina 2026 Games: "I still have what it takes

Lindsey Vonn: ‘Mom, I'm on the cover of Time Magazine!’

In a social media post announcing the cover story, Vonn shared how meaningful her Time magazine cover is with the headline, “Mom, I’m on the cover of Time Magazine!”

In the interview, the Olympic champion from Minnesota credits her late mother, who lived with limited mobility following a stroke and was later diagnosed with ALS, as the inspiration for her resilience and her drive to return to racing. “One thing that my mom’s really given me is the ability to pick myself back up,” Vonn says.

“That’s what she did her whole life, and I’ll never stop doing that.”

That spirit of perseverance guided Vonn through a difficult six-year retirement marked by worsening knee pain. After deciding to seek treatment, her knee replacement surgery proved more successful than she ever expected.

“Every day…it was becoming more and more clear that this was different,” she recalls in the interview.

Vonn also shares the breakthrough moment when she achieved her goal of completing a single-leg box jump, a milestone that earned her surgeon’s approval to return to competition, which she officially announced in November 2024.

Vonn on her decision to return to competition

Vonn’s return announcement was met with both excitement and skepticism about her motivations, which is something she addresses directly in the Time interview.

“I don’t need this," she says of her return to competitive skiing. "I’m doing it because I love it. It’s fun and it’s a challenge. And I think it means a lot to a lot of people,” she says.

“It’s not like I lack fulfillment. I don’t lack purpose. I don’t lack joy. I have all the things that I need in my life. Even though I’ve been through a lot of sh-t, I’m lucky enough to do what I love one more time. The only danger this presents is to myself. I am not endangering anyone else in this process.”

Vonn, whose accolades include 82 World Cup titles, eight World Championship medals, and her three Olympic medals, also shares her views of what it means to be the greatest of all time (GOAT) in sport.

“I don’t think it necessarily always comes down to how many wins you have,” she explains. “I think it’s also the impact you have on sports and culture. I do think I’ve changed the way people view certain things in skiing and in sports and in culture. My goal is not to just be a ski racer. I’m not a robot. I’m not just there to win. I’m there to enjoy the mountain and to be myself. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

Vonn’s perspective offers a glimpse into how she’ll approach the upcoming season: Focused on competition, yet determined to bring her full, authentic self to every race.

Lindsey Vonn on going for medals at Milano Cortina 2026: ‘I like it when the stakes are high’

While the 2024/25 season was largely about proving herself in her comeback, Vonn did so in dramatic fashion, finishing the World Cup season with a second-place podium in Sun Valley, Idaho. But she shares that her ultimate goal is clear: winning a medal at the Olympic Games.

The article also offers a look at Vonn’s mental preparation ahead of this season, which involved Vonn working with her therapist to rewatch her worst accidents, “so she could release them from her subconscious.”

Unfazed, Vonn shares: “I’m like a goldfish—you have to have a three-second memory.”

She broke down the incidents “as if they were routine football plays.”

In the Time article, her therapist calls Vonn’s mindset “a superhuman ability to disassociate from pain.”

The greatest pressure, Vonn admits, comes from herself: “I don’t know how satisfied I would be if I walked away [from Milano Cortina 2026] with no medal… But I don’t think that’s going to happen… I’ve already done more than anyone ever expected.

"I’ve already done the impossible.”

She also reveals that she thrives under pressure, saying, “I like it when the stakes are high.”

And the stakes have never been higher as Vonn still needs to earn her spot for Milano Cortina 2026, which would be her fifth Olympic Games.

She will return to World Cup competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from 12–14 December.

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