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Few Olympians have dominated their sport in the way Lindsey Vonn has over her career.
Vonn possesses the second-highest super ranking (297.00) among all alpine skiers, behind only Austrian legend Marcel Hirscher (359.40) as the most accomplished skiers of all time. She is one of only two women to win four World Cup overall titles and she won eight World Cup downhill championships, including six in a row. She also has 20 crystal globes, the most of any skier in history, and three Olympic medals.
Needless to say, Vonn has always been must-see TV when she is on the screen.
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With the 2022 Winter Games in full swing, fans are hoping to catch another glimpse of her on the slopes. But will they see her in Beijing?
Here's what you need to know about Vonn this year:
Is Lindsey Vonn competing in the 2022 Olympics?
Vonn will not be competing in the 2022 Beijing Games, nor will she be seen competitively on the slopes again.
Back in 2019, Vonn announced her retirement from alpine skiing after the World Championships in Are, Sweden. Vonn explained that she had sustained many more injuries over her career than most knew and said she had kept a few surgeries out of the headlines to avoid it becoming the center of attention.
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"My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen," Vonn wrote on Facebook. "At this point, arthritis is the least of my worries and I hope I can still ski with my kids some day. But even knowing what lies ahead for my body, it has still been worth it. I have always worked hard, fought back and dealt with whatever comes my way because I simply love skiing. At no point have I ever regretted my injuries, my comebacks, the therapy, the preparation even even the pain because in my mind it has always been worth it."
Vonn looked back at her historic career that included 82 wins, 137 total trips to the podium, four overall titles and 16 discipline titles at the World Cup in 19 seasons, seven World Championship medals and three Olympic medals.
"Please let my story be of comebacks, victories and even injuries, but do not tell my story as one of failures or unreached goals," Vonn wrote. "I always say, 'Never give up!' So to all the kids out there, to my fans who have sent me messages of encouragement to keep going ... I need to tell you that I'm not giving up! I'm just starting a new chapter. Don't lose faith in your dreams, keep fighting for what you love, and if you always give everything you have you'll be happy no matter what the outcome."
But viewers will still have a chance to see Vonn on their screens this season. NBC announced that she will be a primetime correspondent at the 2022 Winter Games.
"I am excited to share my perspective along with my insight on what athletes might be feeling during high pressure moments," Vonn said in NBC's release. "My first memories of Olympics were from NBC broadcast, so I am very excited to be working with a team that has been there for so many amazing Olympic moments."
How old was Lindsey Vonn in her first Olympics?
Vonn has been on the international skiing scene for a long time. She first made an appearance on the U.S. Olympic team as a 17-year-old in 2002 at the Salt Lake City Games.
She raced in slalom and combined at those Games and placed sixth in combined. She earned her first major medal at the 2003 Puy St. Vincent Junior World Ski Championships in downhill. Vonn, then Lindsey Kildow, won two more medals — a silver in downhill and bronze in giant slalom — in the next year's junior world ski championships as well.
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How many Olympic medals has Lindsey Vonn won?
In her career, Vonn has totaled three Olympic medals. She earned a gold in downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and took home bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Her first Olympic medals came after she had already begun to take home plenty of hardware in World Cup and World Championship events. Coming into the Vancouver Olympics, she had earned two overall World Cup titles, two downhill crowns and a super-G title. She had also won the downhill and super-G gold medals in the 2009 Val-d'Isere World Championships.
The only Olympics Vonn missed came in the 2014 Sochi Winter Games due to a knee injury she had suffered the previous winter.
