Lindsey Vonn places 15th in downhill at ski worlds. She called it a 'practice run for the Olympics'

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — One spot ahead of Sofia Goggia. Four spots ahead of Malorie Blanc, the emerging Swiss racer 19 years her junior.

A 15th-place result in the world championship downhill may have marked unchartered territory for Lindsey Vonn on Saturday. After all, the American had never finished outside the top 10 in her best event at a worlds or Olympics.

But it was still respectable, and better than the majority of the 33-woman field.

Having only recently returned to ski racing at age 40 with a new titanium knee, and having hooked her right arm on a gate in the super-G two days earlier while fighting off cold- and flu-like symptoms all week, Vonn called her performance “good progress.”

“Of course (at) world championships I always have high expectations of myself. And when everything is working together, I know what I’m capable of,” she said. “Right now, I don’t have all the puzzle pieces put together. I have the corners. I’m missing some of the middle pieces. But all in all, the biggest goal was to have a plan and execute it.”

Vonn’s long-term goal remains being competitive at next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. She told The Associated Press in a recent interview that she plans to retire again after the Olympic skiing competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where she holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.

“In the start, I put pressure on myself as if it was a practice run for the Olympics, and I did exactly what I came here to do,” Vonn said. “Clearly, not everything is working as well as it should. I know I can be stronger. I know I can get my material to work better. It’s like jumping in a Formula 1 car and having no training.”

Vonn’s longtime ski technician Heinz Haemmerle retired, so her equipment supplier Head assigned her Chris Krause, who formerly worked for Didier Cuche and Bode Miller, for her comeback. But then Krause got sick, so she was assigned yet another technician, Rene Meusburger.

“A lot of pieces are on the board but not in the right place,” Vonn said. “It’s good progress. I’m ahead of Sofi (Goggia). And I think in Cortina, she’s the No. 1 one person to beat there. So it’s not like I’m skiing badly."

Vonn finished 1.96 seconds behind the winner, American teammate Breezy Johnson.

Lauren Macuga, another American, placed fifth to follow up her bronze medal in super-G two days earlier.

“I think that’s amazing for Lindsey,” Macuga said. “It’s so impressive that she’s here at world champs after six years off … And I know she’s just going to keep building."

Up next for Vonn is the team combined event on Tuesday.

The women’s downhill in Cortina for the Olympics will be held in exactly a year: on Feb. 8, 2026. So where does Vonn hope to be by then?

“Not in this same position. I’ll tell you that,” she said. “I hope to be in a much different place in a year. But I did think about that in the starting gate. That was the biggest goal for me, to bring myself to the right place mentally, have that clarity and have that precision. And I did exactly what I wanted to do. So for me mentally, that gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can execute when the pressure’s on.”

Vonn, it should be noted, has a history of going out with a bang.

She won bronze in downhill in Pyeongchang in 2018 at what then appeared to be her final Olympics. And then took another bronze in downhill at the 2019 worlds in her final race before retiring.

Still, Vonn has faced criticism in Europe for returning to such a dangerous sport at an age that no woman of her caliber had ever raced at before.

“There’s always going to be critics, no matter what I do someone is going to talk (expletive) about me,” Vonn said. “Honestly, if you don’t have haters then you’re probably not doing that well. So bring it on.”

Associated Press writer Eric Willemsen in Vienna contributed to this report.

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

United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates at the finish area of a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn smiles at the finish area of a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn arrives at the finish area of a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn is airborne during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by LeBron James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute, and the Milwaukee Bucks blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 105-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points, and he hit two free throws to break a tie after Antetokounmpo blocked a driving layup attempt by James with 39 seconds left.

Antetokounmpo then knocked the ball out of James' hands from behind with 2 seconds left, and Porter hit two more free throws to seal Milwaukee's fifth win in seven games — its first over a team with a winning record since Dec. 11. Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points in his lowest-scoring effort since returning from his right calf strain.

Luka Doncic had 24 points and nine assists on 8-of-25 shooting for the Lakers. He had his lowest-scoring performance since Christmas, and he fouled out on Porter's 3-point attempt with 16.2 seconds to play.

James had 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but Antetokoumpo got the best of the top scorer in NBA history at crunch time. Los Angeles has lost six of 10.

Milwaukee surged to a double-digit lead in the first half even with Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction in his injury return. Doncic scored 12 points in the third quarter but also committed four fouls in the period, including his fifth of the game.

Los Angeles abruptly erased its deficit by going on a 17-4 run to open the fourth, with James putting the Lakers ahead when he stole the ball from Antetokounmpo for a layup with 6:02 left. Milwaukee missed nine of its first 12 shots in the period, but Porter's layup tied it with two minutes left.

Lakers starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura remain sidelined by injury, but Hachimura (calf) might return early next week from his six-game absence, coach JJ Redick said.

Bucks: At Denver on Sunday.

Lakers: At Sacramento on Monday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart, left, tries to shoot as Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)