Sports
Lindsey Vonn, at historic stop for women’s alpine, kicks off her World Cup return
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — Before starting down the track, ski racers often receive course reports by radio, detailing conditions and delivered by teammates at the finish who skied the course ahead of them.
It’s not every day those reports come from Lindsey Vonn, three-time Olympic medalist, 82-time World Cup winner and one of alpine skiing’s greats.
But they did on Saturday, when Vonn foreran the downhill course at Beaver Creek’s Birds of Prey World Cup course, testing the track for conditions and safety before some of the world’s top skiers hit the slopes — and radioing up to her American teammates encouraging them to send it.
The sun was high, the course was fast and the mood was celebratory as Vonn came through the finish in a spray of snow, waving to cheers from a packed crowd. As a forerunner, her time has not been released and did not count for the official standings, topped by Cornelia Huetter from Austria with a time of 1:32.38.
“I am so friggin’ happy to be back here,” Vonn said in an interview with Birds of Prey commentator Parker Biele after forerunning the course.
She’s baaackkk 😏
From her 2011 super-G win to forerunning the historic women’s Birds of Prey downhill, it only feels right that @lindseyvonn‘s comeback starts here.
She’ll do it again for tomorrow’s super-G 🤘#stifelusskiteam pic.twitter.com/aKZhRAAH0I
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) December 14, 2024
The last time Vonn raced at a World Cup event was in 2019, not long before her retirement brought on by years of injuries. But last month, Vonn announced a comeback to the world of alpine racing, attempting what very few have done: return to the sport’s top tier, at age 40, after years of retirement.
Vonn raced earlier this month at a lower-level event at Copper Mountain in Colorado, securing the minimum points needed to request a wild card entry into World Cup races, reserved for retired skiers who have found success at the top of the sport. After forerunning at Birds of Prey, she plans to make her return to World Cup competition next weekend at St. Moritz in Switzerland.
That will be more than two decades since Vonn made her World Cup debut in 2000 at age 16. In the years that followed, she became one of the most successful women in alpine racing, developing a reputation for fast, powerful skiing. She often raced with men’s skis and frequently requested to compete on men’s courses, to no avail.
Things have changed since then. On Saturday, women raced the challenging downhill Birds of Prey track at Beaver Creek — typically reserved for men — for the first time. The only other time women competed at the course was in 2011 on a version of the Super-G track, when a lack of snow in France relocated the event for one year only (women also raced an adjacent course at Beaver Creek in 2015). The winner of that 2011 race? Vonn.
“Birds of Prey is a hill that constantly is pulling you down,” Vonn said Friday about her past experience at Beaver Creek. “You can go extremely fast … if you let it take you.”
It’s that past experience that Biele, a former racer herself now commentating at the event, says is invaluable for fellow American women.
“What she’s able to do is provide mentorship to them and really guide them,” Biele said. “She’s raced all these hills before. So having somebody who’s done that and been on these tracks and has had this experience is such a valuable asset to give to this next generation of racers.”
Lindsey Vonn acknowledges the crowd Saturday after forerunning for the women’s downhill. She’s targeting a return to World Cup racing next weekend. (Gabriele Facciotti / Agence Zoom / Getty Images)
With Birds of Prey historically reserved for men, U.S. women have not had too many chances to race World Cups on home soil.
“To have this opportunity to really take advantage of it is so nice, and to come down to a home crowd, I mean, in Europe, there are some U.S. fans there, but to come down and have someone cheering for you is such a nice feeling,” said Lauren Macuga, 22, who finished fourth with a time of 1:32.90, the fastest of the seven Americans racing Saturday and the only one to break the top 10. “It’s so exciting.”
More than two dozen family members and friends came out to support 2022 Olympian Bella Wright, passing out t-shirts to a largely American crowd — a rare occurrence when many women’s World Cups take place abroad.
“I’ve been coming to Beaver Creek to watch the men since I was 4 years old,” Wright said on Friday before racing began. “It means a lot for me to be here and it means even more to have the women be able to do the same track as the men. I think that historically this is just going to be a moment that we’re going to look back on and realize that women can do more men’s tracks, which is so exciting.”
It’s exciting for locals too. Kathi Kotula has lived in Vail Valley for 27 years and has worked the Birds of Prey event for 14. (She was looking forward to seeing Vail local and alpine great Mikaela Shiffrin race the course, but Shiffrin is out with an injury after crashing last month during a World Cup race in Vermont.)
“We’re used to the grandeur of all the men coming into town and the excitement and the fun, but I swear, this year, when they announced women would be coming, there was a joy in the valley,” Kotula said. “We were so stoked that we had the opportunity.”
As Birds of Prey wraps up and the World Cup circuit continues, attention now turns to how Vonn will perform in top-level races — and whether she could be competitive for the 2026 Olympics.
Her comeback at age 40 is unprecedented among female alpine skiers. When Vonn retired in 2019, she was already the oldest woman to medal in alpine skiing at the Olympics, winning bronze at age 33 at Pyeongchang in 2018. Earlier this year, Italian Federica Brignone, 34, became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race. (Brignone placed ninth in the downhill on Saturday).
But Vonn joins a larger group of professional athletes to compete into their 40s, including sports legends like Serena Williams and Tom Brady. In 2022, French skier Johan Clarey became the oldest alpine racer to medal at the Olympics at age 41.
Spectators cheer for Lindsey Vonn on Saturday during the first women’s World Cup event held on the famed Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek. (Jason Connolly / AFP via Getty Images)
At Beaver Creek on Friday, Vonn also cited women younger than her pushing age boundaries in their respective sports — namely Simone Biles, who made her third Olympic team this past summer at age 27. In Paris, Biles became the oldest women’s Olympic all-around gold medalist since 1952.
“I think Simone Biles is the perfect example of what can be done at an older age, and she’s not even old. It’s just, it’s outside of the confines of what we believe is the right age for the sport,” Vonn said.
“I don’t think I’m reinventing the wheel, I’m just doing what I feel is right for me, but at the same time continuing on what other women have done before me.”
Vonn has cited a variety of reasons driving her comeback: She missed having teammates, she missed skiing, she missed skiing fast.
But the main reason Vonn returned from retirement was straightforward: Her body could do it.
“What changed my mind was just that I was put back together again,” Vonn said.
It’s an outcome that seemed far from guaranteed after years of high-speed crashes, painful injuries and surgeries, including a series of ligament tears in her knee in 2013 and 2014. She retired in 2019 not long after yet another ligament tear.
“The last years of my career, I think, were a lot more challenging than I let on and anyone really understood,” Vonn said.
Eight months after knee replacement surgery and more than five years since her last race, Vonn said she feels better at 40 than she did at times earlier in her career.
“I couldn’t do, you know, a 10-inch jump, single leg, over the last few years of my career,” she said. “And now I’m doing 20 inches, no problem.”
Whether or not Vonn can get back on top is another question, one that will be answered in the next few months of racing.
She certainly has her skeptics. In the world of sports, comeback announcements are often accompanied by cynics wondering if it’s all just for sponsorships or press coverage. With Vonn’s history of injuries and the dangers of skiing, some fans just don’t think she can do it.
“I’m 10 years on a knee replacement, so I know what that’s all about, but racing’s a lot different,” said Bruce Evans, a spectator who arrived at Beaver Creek Saturday decked out in an American flag ski suit, carrying an American flag signed by everyone from 1960s alpine Olympian Billy Kidd to Vonn herself.
“Especially in downhills, you’re on the edge all the time or you’re not going to be near the top in the finish order. As far as her making the choice, hey, more power to her, especially if she can be successful at it.”
Vonn says she’s all in.
“I don’t just whimsically rejoin the U.S. Ski Team,” she said Friday.
Instead, Vonn said she plans to get back to where she was before retirement.
“Success is not just participating,” Vonn said.
GO DEEPER
With World Cup in her backyard, Mikaela Shiffrin and Aleksander Kilde focus on recovery
(Top illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Dustin Satloff / U.S. Ski and Snowboard / Getty Images; Mine Kasapoglu / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
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The highly anticipated 30th WNBA season tipped off Friday with three games, including the expansion Toronto Tempo’s first-ever contest.
The action continued Saturday with a full slate, including Caitlin Clark’s return after an injury-riddled sophomore season.
Clark and the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings on Saturday afternoon in a matchup featuring the four most recent No. 1 overall picks. The Wings outlasted the Fever 107-104, but the game was defined by Azzi Fudd’s — the most recent top pick — underwhelming debut.
Dallas Wings guards Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers react during the first half of the Fever’s season opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 9, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Fudd played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring three points — the lowest ever by a No. 1 overall pick in a WNBA debut.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez addressed Fudd’s performance after the game, encouraging the rookie to, “Keep doing what she’s doing, it’s her first year in the league. We got five really talented backcourt players.”
EX-WNBA STAR CRITICAL OF SKY ROOKIE HAILEY VAN LITH, BELIEVES POPULARITY PLAYED ROLE IN DRAFT SELECTION
In addition to Fudd, Dallas’ backcourt features last year’s top draft pick Paige Bueckers, last season’s No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James, four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and starting guard Odyssey Sims.
Until Saturday, Kelsey Plum held the record for the lowest-scoring debut by a No. 1 pick. Selected first overall by the then-San Antonio Stars in 2017, she scored just four points in her debut. The Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and was subsequently rebranded as the Aces.
Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd warms up before the game against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2026. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Despite the slow start to her first season in the league, Plum ended the year with All-Rookie team honors. In the years since, she’s been named to four All-Star teams and won two championships with the Aces.
The Wings’ decision to take Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick drew controversy, raising questions about whether Bueckers’ personal relationship with her influenced the selection. Late last month, Bueckers said last month it did not.
Azzi Fudd poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA Draft at The Shed in New York City on April 13, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images)
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“Azzi Fudd was the No. 1 draft pick because she earned it, and it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with who she is as a human being, who she is as a basketball player,” Bueckers said, according to ESPN.
Neither Bueckers nor Fudd has publicly updated their relationship status since the April draft.
“Quite frankly, I believe me and Azzi’s personal relationship is nobody’s business but our own,” Bueckers also said in April. “And what we choose to share is completely up to us.”
Next up, the Wings play their home opener on Tuesday when they host the Atlanta Dream.
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The Lakers are one playoff defeat from their season being over and from the conversation turning to LeBron James’ future.
They are in a hole no team has climbed out of in the history of the NBA, the Lakers’ 131-108 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 putting L.A. down 3-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
James finished his night with 19 points on seven-for-19 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and Austin Reaves finished with 17 points and nine assists.
Even so, the Lakers have now lost all three games by double digits.
And the Lakers are fully aware that no NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs, with those teams holding a 161-0 record. Only four teams have forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0, all of which ultimately lost the series, including the Boston Celtics in 2023.
Lakers forward LeBron James shows frustration as Thunder center Chet Holmgren slam dunks during Game 3 on Saturday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Game 4 is Monday night, when the Lakers will try to stave off elimination and a night that will determine how the conversations go with James if they lose.
James has been frequently asked this season about retirement, but he has not given any indication of what the future holds for him.
He’s 41 years old and playing in an NBA-record 23rd season.
James is in the final year of his contract that pays him $52 million, making him a free agent this offseason. He can retire, join another team or perhaps return to the Lakers next season.
That will be the conversation if the Lakers can’t win Game 4.
They will see the same Thunder team that had seven players score in double figures, led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points and 10 assists and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 23 points and nine assists.
The Lakers went down 13 in the third quarter and had to play catchup the rest of the way. They never did, going down by 112-94 with 6 minutes and 12 seconds left, forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout.
The deficit just kept growing, topping out at 27 points in the fourth.
They were outscored 33-20 in the third quarter. The Lakers didn’t take care of the basketball in the third, turning it over six times, and they didn’t play good defense, allowing the Thunder to shoot 59.1% from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range,
The Lakers did not give an inch to the Thunder in the first half, even when they fell behind by 10 points.
They just kept grinding until they led 59-57 at halftime.
Hachimura had 16 points in the first half, continuing his hot three-point shooting by making all four of his threes. Luke Kennard came off the bench to give the Lakers 13 points, shooting five for six from the field and three for four from three-point range.
The Lakers kept the pressure defense on Gilgeous-Alexander. Though he had 14 points in the first half, he shot only four for 14 from the field and one for five from three-point range.
The Lakers shot 55% from three-point range in the first half, which went a long way in helping them.
The Lakers lost the first two games by identical margins of 18 points and each loss was magnified because Gilgeous-Alexander was kept under wraps for the most part by L.A.’s defense.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul with 10:34 left in the third quarter of Game 2 and went to the bench, the Thunder turned a five-point lead into a 13-point advantage at the end of the quarter.
So, when he wasn’t on the court, the Lakers failed to take advantage.
“Well, you know, again, I’ll repeat what I said after the game: we’ve got to be better in the non-Shai minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Role players like Mitchell and Jared McCain hurt the Lakers in the second game. Chet Holmgren also was hard to deal with.
“Mitchell and McCain have hurt us in those non-Shai minutes, and then Chet [Holmgren] has hurt us the whole game,” Redick said. “I think you’ve got to be willing to live with something. Shai playing one-on-one, thus far in the series, we haven’t been willing to live with, so you’re going to be in rotation. That can lead to smalls on bigs at the hole, and the offensive rebounding from Chet has really hurt us.”
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In 2025, Alex Palou kicked off the Month of May with a Sonsio Grand Prix win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Based on the odds, it’s likely that Palou will find himself in Winner’s Circle again this Saturday when INDYCAR goes back to IMS on May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Considering Palou has already captured the checkered flag three times this season, are there any other drivers whose odds are worth a wager?
Here are the latest lines at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 9.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sonsio Grand Prix 2026
Àlex Palou: 5/18 (bet $10 to win $12.78 total)
Kyle Kirkwood: 5/1 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Pato O’Ward: 12/1 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
David Malukas: 14/1 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Josef Newgarden: 16/1 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Scott McLaughlin: 20/1 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Christian Lundgaard: 30/1 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Scott Dixon: 40/1 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Will Power: 60/1 (bet $10 to win $610 total)
Felix Rosenqvist: 80/1 (bet $10 to win $810 total)
Alexander Rossi: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Ericsson: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Marcus Armstrong: 100/1 (bet $10 to win $1,010 total)
Christian Rasmussen: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Graham Rahal: 150/1 (bet $10 to win $1,510 total)
Louis Foster: 300/1 (bet $10 to win $3,010 total)
Dennis Hauger: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Romain Grosjean: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Santino Ferrucci: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Rinus Veekay: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Kyffin Simpson: 500/1 (bet $10 to win $5,010 total)
Caio Collet: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Sting Ray Robb: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Nolan Siegel: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Mick Schumacher: 1000/1 (bet $10 to win $10,010 total)
Here’s what to know about the oddsboard:
Heavy Favorite: It doesn’t look like Alex Palou’s dominance will be slowing down anytime soon. As noted above, he’s already won three of the five races since the INDYCAR season started in March. With 186 laps led, Palou sits first in the standings and has the shortest odds to win the title again. Last season, he started from the pole and led 29 laps before winning the race.
Long Shot to Watch: While his odds of 150/1 to win at IMS are much longer than Palou’s, Graham Rahal is one to watch. At this race in 2025, he started second and led 49 laps before finishing sixth. He finished second at this course in 2015, 2020 and 2023. He’s currently 10th in the INDYCAR standings, with one top five and three top 10s.
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