Lindsey Vonn’s peers say her return at 40 is 'pretty freaking awesome'

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — When Lindsey Vonn decided to return to downhill ski racing at age 40 this season after nearly six years of retirement with a new titanium knee, the criticism from prominent retired skiers like Franz Klammer, Marc Girardelli, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Bruno Kernen, Michaela Dorfmeister and Sonja Nef was so scathing that the underlying theme suggested the American had psychological issues.

However, there are many other current and retired skiers close in age to Vonn who think just the opposite.

Take Marcel Hirscher, the eight-time overall champion who also made a comeback this season at age 35 that was put on hold when he injured his left knee in December.

“It is very unfair. I can’t understand those messages,” Hirscher said of the criticism aimed at Vonn. “Because for me, it is just inspiring. Lindsey showed us if you have a big dream, it doesn’t matter how huge the steps are. That has to be taken. Lindsey showed us you can achieve this.”

Hirscher added that he was “close to crying” when he saw Vonn finish sixth and fourth on consecutive days in St. Anton last month in only the second and third races of her comeback.

“It was crazy,” Hirscher said. “No one was expecting this. So it is a big role model for all human beings that big dreams, big wishes, if you work for it, everything — mostly everything — is possible.”

Still working her way back into shape and learning how to handle new equipment that evolved during her retirement, Vonn has struggled lately, unable to finish three of her last six events.

Her best result at the recently concluded world championships was 15th place in the downhill.

Retired British racer turned BBC skiing commentator Chemmy Alcott competed with Vonn in the past and remembers how her fellow skier kept fighting through pain to come back from a series of crashes and major injuries during her earlier career.

Now, Vonn says she has no pain in her new right knee.

“For me it’s actually irrelevant the results,” Alcott said. “I mean St. Anton was ridiculous and almost it was too good too fast because expectations were crazy. But just to see her come down with a smile on her face and to be loving it and to be doing it for the sport — because our sport needs these icons — I think is incredible.

“I’m 42 and I couldn’t imagine doing what she’s doing now,” Alcott added. “But I love seeing her without pain.”

Dave Ryding, who just had the best British result in recent memory at worlds when he finished sixth in the slalom at age 38, was asked what was tougher: navigating the rapid slalom gates at his age or what Vonn is doing in the speed events.

“I’ve not had any years off. It’s been every year a professional athlete. No respite. Since I was 18 I’ve been living on the road. So it’s a testament to my dedication to the sport,” Ryding said. “But obviously what Vonn is doing is pretty freaking awesome, so I don’t want to say that I’m anything better than Lindsey Vonn.”

Ryding, who became the first British winner in World Cup history when he took a slalom victory in Kitzbuehel three years ago, is still trying to determine if he’ll continue competing through next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.

He cited Johan Clarey, the Frenchman who won a silver medal in downhill aged 41 at the Beijing Games three years ago, as an inspiration.

“To be so focused for two runs is really difficult. The mental intensity at my age is tough. And I think that’s why slalom skiers don’t go to 40,” Ryding said. “I have no real aspirations to be racing at 40 because it’s tough as hell.”

The oldest racers still competing on the men’s downhill circuit are Christof Innerhofer and Adrien Theaux, who are both 40 like Vonn.

“Some days are good, some days not,” said Theaux, citing pain in his knees and back.

Theaux suggested that Vonn could perform well but “not every race.”

Vonn is planning to compete in one more Olympics in exactly a year, when women’s skiing will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on a slope where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.

“You can never write Lindsey Vonn off. You can never write someone of that caliber off,” Alcott said. “I think actually her DNFs (did not finishes) and her falls are all part of the process. I’ve been proud to watch her taking those risks because she’s not coming back and skiing in a comfort zone. She’s coming back being the Lindsey who always charged. And that will keep her in good stead going to the Olympics.”

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

Italy's Christof Innerhofer competes in a downhill run of a men's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Adrien Theaux is airborne during a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Britain's Dave Ryding competes in a men's slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during a women's downhill training, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Lindsey Vonn starts an alpine ski, women's World Championship downhill training, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Lindsey Vonn gets ready to start an alpine ski, women's World Championship downhill training, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, left, talks to United States' Lauren Macuga and United States' Jacqueline Wiles, right, at the finish area of a downhill run of a women's team combined event, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 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)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)