Lindsey Vonn officially has qualified for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The 41-year-old made the announcement with an Instagram post in collaboration with Team USA and the Stifel U.S. Ski Team accounts.

“I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!” she said. “When I made the decision to return to ski racing, I always had one eye on Cortina because it’s a place that is very, very special to me. 

“Although I can’t guarantee any outcomes, I can guarantee that I will give my absolute best every time l kick out of the starting gate. No matter how these games end up, I feel like I’ve already won.

“I am grateful for how the season has gone so far, but I am just getting started.”

Vonn joins Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) as the only American Alpine skiers to punch tickets to the 2026 Winter Games so far.

Each country may send up to 22 athletes—11 men and 11 women—with a maximum of four athletes per gender in each discipline. Results from Oct. 25 to Jan. 18 of the 2025–26 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup season serve as the primary basis for selection. Final roster decisions are made by U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the nation’s governing body for the sport, who will reveal the full team on Jan. 20.

The St. Paul, Minnesota native has been stellar through the first-five races of her 21st World Cup season. In her debut, she stunned the world with a downhill victory in St. Moritz, Switzerland, making her the oldest Alpine skier in history, man or woman, to win a Cup event. It was her first Cup victory since 2018.

She followed up the golden performance with a runner-up finish, a wooden spoon (fourth) and two third-place results. Her 80% podium rate leads all racers about one-third of the way through the 2025-26 campaign.

In 2019, Vonn was forced to retire due to chronic arthritis in her right knee. She made her return to the circuit five years later, thanks in large part to undergoing a customized, robot-assisted knee replacement surgery that involved removing the impacted areas of her knee bone and inserting a plastic meniscus and titanium pieces.

“Physically I'm in possibly the best shape I've ever been in," Vonn said at a news conference before the St. Moritz opener. "My body doesn't hurt, so that's the best part of all."

Vonn is a four-time Olympian (soon-to-be five) who made her first appearance at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. She’s earned three medals, including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. 

Cortina d'Ampezzo, the site of Vonn’s fifth and final Olympic Games, holds special significance for her. It’s the place where she made her first podium in 2004, broke the all-time record for World Cup victories (63, since exceeded by Shiffrin) and won the most Cup events of any Alpine skier (12). She has described the course as feeling like “home.”

Vonn is expected to compete in both speed events — downhill and super-G — at Milan Cortina. A series of downhill trainings are set to take place from Feb. 5 - Feb. 7, with the actual downhill medal race occurring on Feb. 8. The super-G is scheduled for Feb. 12. 

There's also a chance she participates in the team combined, a new event making its debut at the 2026 Games. It pairs same-gender athletes from a country, one speed specialist and one technical specialist, who each run once with the combined fastest times determining the winner. That means, we could very well see a dream team of Vonn and Shiffrin. Ultimately, U.S. Ski & Snowboard choose the duo. That event is set for Feb. 10. 

Catch Vonn, Shiffrin and the rest of Team USA on NBC and Peacock.