Lindsey Vonn's Secret Weapon? Her Coach.

She certainly whetted her appetite for future races ahead this Olympic season

“All in all, it’s been a really solid weekend – I’m really happy,” Vonn said, after the super-G. “I have a lot to improve upon, but nothing that I can’t achieve. I always like leaving a place hungry, and I’m very hungry. I’m starving.”

Vonn will race again, in the downhill and super-G races this upcoming weekend in Val d’Isere, France. As has been her rallying cry, age is just a number.

“For my age, I feel pretty damn good. I basically checked all of the boxes, physically, equipment, coaches, and everything is lining up the best as it possibly could. 

“Physically, I’m in possibly the best shape I’ve ever been and the body doesn’t hurt, so that’s the best part of all. 

“Last year was up-and-down. I started off well, struggled in the middle, then finished off strong with the medal in Sun Valley,” Vonn said, referring to a second-place super-G result that brought tears on the podium, at World Cup Finals in late March.

Queried by POWDER as to how she intends to balance taking risk on daunting, albeit familiar courses, versus skiing smart and as safe as possible at age 41, Vonn elaborates on her strategy and mindset.

“I'm trying to win races, so I'm gonna push the limits, but I'm also not gonna do something stupid,” Vonn said, one day before the victory in St. Moritz. “We're tactical in how we approach every race; I think some people have the impression that I’m reckless because I push the limits, but I'm actually very calculated. 

“I know where I can miss and where I can't, and we’re taking the approach of pushing in races so that I can win, but not taking too much risk in a sense that I make mistakes and put myself in undue physical harm. That’s our strategy, but ultimately it's downhill, super-G, and you're going very fast, so anything could happen.”

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Coached by a "F***ing Badass Skier"

Aksel Lund Svindal, who was unflappable across 17 seasons on the World Cup, seems like just the right person, even though coaching is new to him, to help Vonn stay mentally prepared and in the right frame of mind.

Powerful and precise on skis during his competitive days, the Norwegian racer projects a calming, yet motivating presence as a fellow four-time Olympian alongside Vonn. He collected four Olympic medals and nine from world championships, seven of them gold, over his illustrious career. He hung up his racing skis in 2019, just like Vonn.

“Aksel happens to be a f***ing badass skier,” Vonn says, bluntly and succinctly about her new coach. “It’s been so amazing to have him – it’s like being coached by my best friend.”

Vonn is also working with U.S. Ski Team coaches and staff, but believes Svindal can provide that additional spark on the mountain. So far, it looks like a golden decision. “She was very convincing that this is a job that I could do better than most people, and I guess I got very flattered,” says Svindal, a 36-time World Cup winner.

Vonn first contacted the Norwegian last February. She proceeded to invite him to join her on the second season of her comeback over the summer

“I watched her last year when she started her comeback and had some theories on what could be worked on – she was fast, but up and down and made a lot of mistakes. It was probably unexpected for her because she was so stable and successful before she retired.

“Coming back after five years, you kind of have to re-learn stuff and there is no shortage of people that would like to give Lindsey Vonn advice on what to do. The problem is if you have too much input, you need to find direction. I think we’ve prepared very well and have found a common direction together.”

Lindsey and Aksel have lit a fire together, taking an enthralling path over the next few months, in a pivotal Olympic season. The Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games open on February 6th and the women’s Olympic downhill is scheduled two days later, on Feb. 8, 2026.

“I thought this was a cool mission – we have x amount of months to get ready for the Olympics, so that’s a big goal and we have no time to lose,” Svindal said.

Watch: Lindsey Vonn and Aksel Svindal React After Victory at St. Moritz

Pursuing a Fifth Olympic Games and a Love Affair with Cortina

The American downhiller has made her intentions crystal clear—the improbable comeback has everything to do with returning to her favorite racing slope in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, at February’s Olympics.

The Olympia delle Tofane piste is one that she has sped to 12 victories (six downhill, six super-G) on across her two-decade long World Cup career.

“I wouldn't even be trying this if the Olympics weren’t in Cortina – if it was in an obscure land that I had never been to, I don't think I would have any interest,” Vonn says. “Cortina is a very meaningful place to me: it's where I got my first podium, I have won there and broke the women’s World Cup win record, and It feels like home. 

“It’s a huge opportunity, all of the other courses at the Olympics, I maybe had one or two races on them ever, and so has everyone else. This is a completely different ballgame because I've run it, I don't know, 40 or 50 times. It’s definitely way more times than any of the other girls.”

If Vonn and Svindal can conjure more magic together, and if Lindsey can find the speed, timing, and precision from the top of Cortina’s Olympia delle Tofane piste, descending the iconic Tofana Schuss, and down the sinuous Italian course across the finish line in a medal-winning time, she would become the oldest ski racer to win an Olympic medal. 

Frenchman Johan Clarey is currently the oldest to have medaled at the Winter Games, having claimed downhill silver at Beijing 2022, at the age of 41 years and one month.

Vonn will be 41 and nearly four months in February 2026. As ski racing enthusiasts, winter sports fans, and suddenly interested others learned this past weekend in Switzerland, don’t look past Lindsey. And Aksel too.