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)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

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

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)