ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� didn鈥檛 just pop into the hospital one day, get a new titanium knee and then decide on the way out that she wanted to return to .
It鈥檚 been a long, calculated process involving several minor and some major knee surgeries, careful vetting of the medical issues involved and then months of in New Zealand, Austria and Colorado to see how her body and new knee would react at age 40.
So now that she鈥檚 preparing to step into a World Cup starting gate this weekend for the first time in nearly six years for super-G races in St. Moritz on Saturday and Sunday, she鈥檚 getting fed up with how several of her fellow skiing champions are questioning why she would return to the sport鈥檚 most dangerous disciplines at such an advanced age.
鈥淚鈥檝e been thinking about getting a replacement for several years. I did a lot of research. I know people think that I鈥檓 insane. But I am actually kind of smart. I have done a few operations, so I know a few doctors. I talked to a lot of them,鈥� Vonn said. 鈥淚 talked to (extreme skier) Chris Davenport, who also had a partial knee replacement and he skis like 150 days a year. 鈥� So that gave me a lot of confidence."
Vonn got most of her medical advice from Tom Hackett, an orthopedic surgeon at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, who has operated on her knees and arm and is affiliated with the U.S. Ski Team.
鈥淗e鈥檚 sort of been my guide. He helped me interview doctors from around the world to make sure that they were in it for the right reasons," Vonn said. 鈥淎 lot of doctors said they could fix me and make me better. But generally when you say that right off the bat it鈥檚 probably not true.鈥�
Hackett helped Vonn find Martin Roche, a South Florida-based orthopedist specializing in complex knee disorders.
Hackett already had performed a 鈥減reparation鈥� surgery in July 2023 to try to slow down the need for a replacement while also preparing other parts of Vonn鈥檚 knee for an eventual replacement.
Then, in April, Roche performed a robot-assisted replacement, cutting off part of the bone in Vonn鈥檚 knee and replacing it with .
鈥淥nce you commit to something you got to commit,鈥� Vonn said. 鈥淥nce they鈥檙e cutting you open that is what it is. So I did all the front-end research and now I鈥檓 reaping the rewards on the back end.鈥�
Pirmin Zurbriggen suggests Vonn could 鈥榯ear her artificial knee to pieces鈥�
But Vonn, who won a record 43 World Cup downhills before retiring in 2019, has not exactly been given a warm welcome back by some well-known retired skiers.
Two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister suggested that 鈥淰onn should see a psychologist,鈥� adding on Austrian TV, 鈥淒oes she want to kill herself?鈥�
Austrian downhill great Franz Klammer said 鈥渟he鈥檚 gone completely mad.鈥�
Four-time overall World Cup champion Pirmin Zurbriggen added his name to the doubters when he told Swiss tabloid Blick on Wednesday that 鈥渢here is a risk that Vonn will tear her artificial knee to pieces. And in such a way that she will never be able to do any sport properly for the rest of her life.鈥�
鈥淚 have the feeling that Vonn hasn鈥檛 recognized the meaning and purpose of her other life in recent years,鈥� Zurbriggen added. 鈥淪he has probably suffered from no longer being a celebrated champion."
After Zurbriggen鈥檚 comments were published, .
鈥淚鈥檓 getting pretty tired of people predicting negative things about my future,鈥� she wrote Wednesday on X. 鈥淒id they all become doctors and I missed it, because they talk like they know more than the best doctors in the world.鈥�
Vonn is taking inspiration from Simone Biles
No woman older than 34 has won a World Cup race. But several men have performed well in the sport near or after 40.
set the record for the oldest podium finisher with a second-place result in the famed Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria, at age 42 in January 2023.
鈥淚鈥檓 not the first person to do it; I鈥檓 just maybe the first woman to do it in ski racing. Simone Biles is the perfect example of what can be done at an older age 鈥� and she鈥檚 not even old,鈥� Vonn said of the gymnast who became at the Paris Games this year 鈥� at 27.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just outside of the confines of what we believe is the right age for the sport," Vonn said. "I don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 reinventing the wheel. I鈥檓 just doing what I feel is right for me but at the same time continuing on what other women have done before me.鈥�
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AP skiing:
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
