Lindsey Vonn made a strong case for her inclusion in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup on Friday. The 41-year-old nabbed a first-place finish for the first time in seven years in the women's downhill event in Switzerland, landing her in the history books as the oldest skier to ever win a World Cup alpine skiing race.

The three-time Olympic medalist broke the record set by then-37-year-old Didier Cuche in 2012 with a time of 1:29:63. Vonn came in a full second ahead of runner-up Magdalena Egger of Austria, who finished at 1:30:61.

The victory marked the 83rd World Cup win of her career, placing her in 10th place on the all-time list. The only American with more career World Cup victories than Vonn is Mikaela Shiffrin, who has 104.

After taking her first top spot on the podium since 2018, Vonn was all smiles when talking about how she felt about being able to lock down the win.

“We worked really hard, not just me, but my whole team,” Vonn said. ” I knew I was skiing fast, but you never know until the first race. And I think I was a little faster than I expected, but I think I had a great run.”

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Vonn initially left the sport following the 2018-19 World Cup season. She announced she was coming out of retirement in November 2024 after she underwent a partial knee replacement just a few months before and re-debuted at the FIS Fall Festival that December. Vonn finished 24th out of 45 skiers in the downhill event.

The World Cup win matters even more for Vonn since she's attempting her fifth Olympic appearance at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy. The Games taking place in Cortina is significant for Vonn, who said the location where she got her first podium placement and broke the women's World Cup win record in 2016 was a major motivator for her return.

Vonn is scheduled to compete in another downhill event on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.