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"I will never forget you": Lindsey Vonn Mourns the Loss of Beloved Ski Coach Erich Sailer

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 1:56 PM ET

American ski racing star Lindsey Vonn is toasting her first coach, Erich Sailer who passed away this week at the age of 99.

“Today we mourn but also must celebrate Erich,” Vonn wrote in a social media post. “He would want us to be on the mountain, doing what we love to do; ski. I know he’s got his hand timer up there, making sure we are always getting faster and still getting upset with me when I’m leaning too much on my inside ski.”

Sailer was born in Austria and moved to the U.S. in the 1950s, going on to found racing camps in Oregon and Wyoming. A Timberline Lodge, Oregon, fixture, the Erich Sailer Ski Racing Camps continue training aspiring racers high on the Palmer Snowfield.

However, Sailer may be best known for his contributions to the racing program at Buck Hill, Minnesota. Under his guidance, four racers from the humble Midwest ski area have become Olympic athletes, including Vonn and Kristina Koznick.

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A 2005 inductee to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame, Sailer received several accolades for his coaching prowess, including being named Development Coach of the Year by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association and the Ski Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. In 2004, the USSA gave him the Tom Reynolds Lifetime Achievement Award.

According to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame, Sailer was known as the “Yoda of Ski Coaching.”

Sailer’s passing comes as Vonn is preparing for what could become a historic Olympic comeback.

She first retired in 2019, but last winter, Vonn returned to ski racing at age 40. Despite naysayers who believed she was too old to be competitive, Vonn had a successful season. She finished the winter with a groundbreaking second-place finish in the super-G during the Sun Valley, Idaho, World Cup finals. Winning that silver medal made her the oldest woman to stand on the World Cup podium.

Now, Vonn hopes to compete in the upcoming Milano-Cortina Winter Games, representing America on the world stage one more time.

“Erich… I will try to make my last turns in ski racing fast for you… I will try to make them mean something more for you,” Vonn wrote in her message to her late coach. “I will never forget you. Never.”

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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