Lindsey Vonn takes a low-risk approach and places 14th in her return to World Cup skiing at age 40

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn was not about to put everything on the line in her first World Cup race back after more than five years of retirement.

Not with her history of crashes and injuries.

Not with her new titanium knee.

Not at age 40.

Vonn took a low-risk approach and finished 14th in a super-G on Saturday, crossing 1.18 seconds behind Austrian winner Cornelia Huetter.

“This was the perfect start,” Vonn said. “Today is just the first step and I’m not looking for more. Today I really needed to get to the finish. I wanted to have a solid result. And that’s exactly what I did.

“There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give," Vonn added. "Today was not the day to try to do anything special.”

Still, when Vonn came down, the crowd of Swiss-flag-waving fans turned silent in anticipation and all of the other top skiers watched her run on a perfectly clear day in the Alps.

“To have her back on the world stage is just fantastic,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “Just the attention she’s bringing to the sport and the role model she is — it’s a big day.

“These kind of moments transcend outside of just sports. We see it with Mikaela (Shiffrin) and what she’s done recently, which is just superhuman as well, setting all those records."

Vonn lost time early in her run but nearly matched the top finishers in the middle and bottom section of the Corviglia course.

When she reached the finish and saw her time, Vonn flashed a wide smile and waved to the crowd.

“I didn’t risk anything with the line. I was a little bit conservative in some sections, but overall I skied really well. Now I just need my top section to be a little faster and I’ll be in really good shape,” said Vonn, who is planning to race another super-G in St. Moritz on Sunday.

Vonn finished less than a second off the podium, which also included Olympic champion Lara Gut-Behrami in second place, 0.18 behind Huetter, and Sofia Goggia in third, 0.33 back.

“I’m really close to being there," Vonn said. "I’m just not quite there yet.”

Vonn started No. 31 under a new wild card rule for former champions. But that still meant going after all of the current top-ranked skiers had raced.

“The course was a little bit bumpy when I went and so some sections I was a little bit more conservative with my line," she said. “But in some sections I was really fast.”

Vonn had to cut her career short in 2019 due to a series of crashes and injuries, but then she had knee replacement surgery in April and had two titanium pieces inserted into her right knee. Her knee feels better than it has in years, so she decided to come back.

“The last few years of my career were so much different than they are right now," Vonn said. "I’m skiing without thinking about my knee, which I really haven’t done since I first tore my ACL in 2013. So it’s been a long time that I felt this good and I’m a little bit older, but honestly, I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I once was.”

Eight-time overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher also took advantage of the wild card rule and returned this season after five years away. But then Hirscher tore his left ACL while training in giant slalom and announced earlier this month that his comeback season was done.

Vonn left the tour with 82 World Cup wins — the record for a woman at the time and within reach of the then all-time Alpine mark of 86 held by Swedish standout Ingemar Stenmark. The women’s record held by Vonn was eclipsed last year by Shiffrin, who now has an outright record 99 wins.

Shiffrin, who shares the record of five wins in St. Moritz with Vonn, isn’t racing this weekend as she recovers from abdominal surgery to clean out a puncture wound she sustained in a crash last month.

Vonn is attempting to enter unchartered territory in terms of success at an advanced age in women’s skiing.

The oldest woman to win a World Cup race was Federica Brignone, the Italian who won the giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, in October to start this season, at age 34.

“It’s super impressive,” said Vonn’s U.S. teammate Jacqueline Wiles, noting that Vonn didn’t have as much preseason preparation as other skiers. “If anybody could do it, she could. The more she gets comfortable and gets kind of back up to speed, she’s going to be right in there.”

So will Vonn charge harder on Sunday?

“Step by step,” Vonn said. “Patience.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, takes a selfie in the finish area after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.(Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

Italy's Sofia Goggia, left, hugs United States' Lindsey Vonn after Vonn competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn looks on before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn looks on before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn looks on before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn does a course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn concentrates during the course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn concentrates during the course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — One person was killed and eight others injured in an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv that included ballistic missiles, local authorities said.

The attack began at around 1:30 a.m. local time and continued for several hours, with explosions echoing across the capital.

The strikes sparked fires in five districts of the city, damaging residential buildings, office and industrial sites, a dormitory and vehicles, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Rescue workers pulled four people from a burning private home in the Sviatoshynskyi district, while in the Shevchenkivskyi district they rescued residents from a burning three-story building. A fire in a non-residential building was also contained. One person was later found dead.

Firefighters also responded to blazes in the Solomyanskyi, Desnianskyi and Dnipro districts.

Russia has launched several large-scale attacks on Kyiv in recent weeks as Ukraine faces a shortage of Patriot air defense missiles, which are its most effective means of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is prepared to grant Ukraine licenses to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, potentially bolstering Kyiv’s defenses against Russian ballistic missile attacks. However, the details and timeline for implementing the decision remain unclear.

Activists kneel as they take a moment of silence to honor the fallen soldiers in Russia-Ukraine war during a rally to denounce President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov after six months in the post, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A woman carries a cage with a parrot as she leaves her damaged house following a Russia missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Smoke rises over the city after a Russian attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Debris surrounds a missile crater in the foreground of a building following Russia's missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Local residents wander among debris following a Russia missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)