SNOW Alps 25-26 web - Flipbook - Page 71
Photo by Melissa Levin
Photo by Claire Abbe
you are, and that I don’t need records or trophies to define the
impact I’ve had.”
Self-aware and relentlessly driven, there’s no mistaking
that Vonn’s still wired for the win. This is, after all, the woman
whose motto is “Never, never give up,” a phrase she credits to
her father – and Winston Churchill. It served her astonishingly
well last March in Sun Valley, when, at 40, she stood on the
podium with a silver medal. “That was a really emotional race
for me,” she recalls. “Probably second only to the Olympics.
When I crossed the finish line, I proved to myself that I could
do it. Even at 40, even with a partial knee replacement, even
after being away for six years – I can still do it.”
When asked what advice she’d give anyone facing their own
reinvention, she doesn’t hesitate. “It’s important to continue
to believe in yourself,” she says. “If you’re determined to do
something, no matter what your age, you have to not give up
on yourself.”
For Vonn, risk is part of the calculation, on the mountain and
in life. “I didn’t feel it was ever a reputational risk because I’ve
already done everything in my career that I’ve ever wanted to
do. I have nothing to prove. But it is a risk physically, obviously.”
She grows more serious. “Skiing is dangerous. We’ve had
some very unfortunate incidents recently where people have
actually died. But for me, skiing is the easiest thing I do. When
I’m on the mountain, everything’s simple. My job is to go as fast
as I can. I don’t have my phone, I don’t have obligations, it’s just
me and the mountain. Everything else is kind of complicated
so, for me, skiing is where I feel happiest.”
Remember? By her own definition: I’m not a skier, but I love
skiing.
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