Lindsey Caroline Vonn (née Kildow /kɪldaʊ/; born October 18, 1984)[1] is an American World Cup alpine ski racer.

[11] Kildow was on skis at age two before moving into Erich Sailer's renowned development program at Burnsville's Buck Hill, which also produced slalom racer Kristina Koznick.

[12] When Kildow was 9 years old, she met Olympic gold medalist ski racer Picabo Street, whom she considers her hero and role model.

On watching Kildow ski for the first time in a 1999 event, Street marveled at her knack for following the fall line, and was quoted as saying: "The faster she went, the bigger the smile she got on her face.

In an interview with The New York Times, Vonn later stated, "I would be in the back under a sleeping bag, and she'd (her mother, Linda) be driving and singing along to some Eric Clapton tape.

She later said, "Vail was wonderful to me, but I missed all the traditional things of childhood – sleepovers, school dances, making friends in a conventional way.

"[22] However, the move paid off because in 1999, Kildow and Will McDonald became the first American athletes to win the "Cadets" slalom events in Italy's Trofeo Topolino di Sci Alpino.

Earlier that year, Kildow climbed onto the World Cup podium for the first time with a third-place finish in downhill in January 2004 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Vonn set a new American record for the most World Cup downhill victories with ten, winning at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on March 8.

[30] Despite skiing with her arm in a brace due to the injury, Vonn won three straight races (two downhills and a super-G) in Haus im Ennstal, Austria, from January 8–10, 2010.

[36] Due to unseasonably warm weather and resultant poor snow conditions, many of the Alpine skiing events were moved back, giving Vonn additional time to heal.

The three wins increased her career total to 56, moving her past Vreni Schneider into second place all-time among women behind Annemarie Moser-Pröll with 62.

After some disappointing results, Vonn announced her decision on December 17 to take a break from the World Cup circuit to fully recover from her earlier illness.

Weather conditions were in Vonn's favor, as officials canceled the race after numerous delays due to a thick fog on the lower section.

With this win, Vonn took the super-G season title for a fifth time, tying a record shared by German Katja Seizinger, Austrian Hermann Maier and Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal.

[59][60] Vonn started the season by winning the three races contested by women in Lake Louise, Alberta (2 Downhill, 1 Super-G) for her third career victory.

[63] On December 7, 2017, Vonn stated in an interview she would not be representing President Donald Trump in the 2018 Winter Olympics and would not attend the White House reception if she won a gold medal.

[66] Vonn dedicated her Olympic races to her grandfather, a Korean War veteran who died the previous November, competing with his initials on her helmet.

"[68] She later scattered some of her grandfather's ashes near the men's downhill racing course, stating: "I know that it would mean a lot to him to be back here, a part of him is in South Korea always.

"[69] In October 2018, ahead of the start of the 2018–19 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Vonn announced that she would retire from competition at the end of the season.

She also said that she aimed to compete in all downhills and super-Gs in the World Cup season, planning to make her debut at Lake Louise, Alberta at the end of November.

[70] However the following month, she injured her knee whilst training at Copper Mountain, forcing her to pull out of the Lake Louise races.

[75] On February 10, after she won a bronze medal in women's downhill, she finally retired from the race circuit, with her wish to get flowers from Stenmark as a goodbye being fulfilled.

[79][80][81] She made her return on 7 December in a downhill race at the FIS Fall Festival at Copper Mountain, Colorado, finishing 24th out of 45 skiers.

[93][94] On 6 May 2018, Vonn appeared on the fourth episode of the second season of Drop the Mic, where she competed in a rap battle against Gus Kenworthy.

[95] The documentary covers her final World Championship season and her rise to fame from child prodigy to three-time Olympic medalist.

Vonn hosted the single season canine reality competition series The Pack, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 20, 2020.

[104] Subban traveled to Åre, Sweden, to watch her win a bronze medal in the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Downhill on February 10, 2019.

[109] On October 21, 2020, Vonn and Subban were announced as members of the ownership group of Angel City FC, a Los Angeles-based team set to start play in the National Women's Soccer League in 2022.

[112] In 2005, as the winner of the downhill at Val d'Isère, Vonn was offered a pregnant Tarine cow, a locally popular dairy breed.