What’s next, now that skiing legend Lindsey Vonn will return to the slopes?
Nov 15, 2024, 5:00 AM
Former U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn speaks to the IOC before Salt Lake City was named Olympics host again as the IOC formally awarded the 2034 Winter Games to the United States bid, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Paris, France. (Ashley Detrick/Salt Lake City Mayor's Office)
(Ashley Detrick/Salt Lake City Mayor's Office)
SALT LAKE CITY — Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn announced that she is ending her retirement at age 40 to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team.
Tom Kelly, who worked closely with Vonn for nearly 20 years as a spokesperson for the U.S. Ski Team, shared his reaction to the big news.
Below is a partial transcript of this interview as well as the full podcast.
KSL NewsRadio modified this interview for brevity and clarity.
HOST JEFF CAPLAN: How long has it been since she last skied professionally?
GUEST TOM KELLY: She retired after the 2019 season. An amazing career, 82 World Cup wins, Olympic gold medal, and many, many other accolades. But her knees have been a problem. She decided to retire from the sport in 2019 [and] has been very active in the sports world over the last five years, but this was a big decision today to get back into ski racing.
CAPLAN: Does she still have the mojo to get it done on the slopes?
KELLY: We’ll see, and I think for Lindsey, it’s her personal goals, it’s ambition … she has to come back, and I think as fans we have to be respectful of that. And maybe not look to put our own goals on her. She has things she’d like to accomplish and we’ll see what those are. I’m sure she will take it step by step. She has been training this fall, both in New Zealand and in Central Europe.
She’ll get back on snow at Copper Mountain, Colorado this weekend. We’ll see where things go over the next month or two.
CAPLAN: What’s the next step? Does she just join the U.S. Ski Team, or does she have to compete for a position?
KELLY: She has been in touch with the ski team for some time, and there actually is a provision that was recently put in place by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation that does allow her as a past champion to come back without a qualifying process.
Listen to the podcast below for the entire interview.
