"I will not forget them"- Lindsey Vonn reacts to former alpine skiing World Championships Sonja Nef and Bruno Kernen calling her comeback ‘stupid’

By Riddhi Acharya

Modified Nov 19, 2024 00:38 GMT

Lindsey Vonn has recently announced that she will be making a competitive return to the alpine skiing slopes, five years after her retirement. While many were overjoyed at the news of her comeback, former Swiss World Championships, Sonja Nef and Bruno Kernen were left unimpressed, leading the American to issue a sharp reaction to their words.

Vonn led an extraordinary career on the slopes, storming to 82 wins in World Cup races, sixteen discipline titles, and four overall titles. She also won three Olympic medals and eight World Championship medals. However, throughout her career, the 40-year-old dealt with her fair share of injuries, undergoing multiple surgeries for her knee.

In 2019, after dealing with a knee injury yet again, the American announced her retirement from the sport. However, in April 2024, she got a knee replacement and has now announced that she will be making a competitive return to skiing.

Reacting to this news, 2001 Giant Slalom World Championship Sinha Nef called Lindsey Vonn’s comeback 'stupid', telling Blick Sport (translated from German),

"I thought: she can't be that stupid. But she obviously is - unfortunately. For me, Lindsey is ruining a lot of her image with this. I think that she doesn't cope in normal life, where she is not always the center of attention and not everything revolves around her. That's why I feel sorry for her.”

1997 downhill World Champion Bruno Kernen also doubted the success of Vonn's comeback, saying,

"Lindsey should continue to move up the rankings this season, making it into the top 10 here and there. It will depend extremely on the terrain and the snow conditions - if the slope is compact and without tracks, she has a good chance. But I don't think she will make it onto the podium in the World Cup.”

Lindsey Vonn reacted to this by taking to X to write,

“Very kind words Sonja and Bruno. I will not forget them.”

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Lindsey Vonn shares a picture of herself in a US ski team uniform

Vonn shared a snap of her return to the slopes (Image Source: Getty)

Lindsey Vonn announced her return to skiing on November 14, telling the New York Times that her latest surgery had left her pain-free. Now, the American is already back to her elite-level training and has joined the U.S. ski team’s training sessions at Copper Mountain in Colorado that focus on the speed disciplines of super-G and downhill.

Sharing a snap of her in an official US ski team uniform, Vonn wrote on X,

“Skiing some downhill, brb.”

After her surgery, Lindsey Vonn privately logged 15 days of on-snow race training in Europe and New Zealand after August. The American intends to race on the World Cup circuit this winter, and fans might see her in action as early as December.