When Lindsey Vonn first started talking about a comeback this season, her goal was to be a non-competitive forerunner at the World Championships. Now, after World Cup results the last two months that defied her expectations,

On Vonn’s official website, her considerable career achievements are listed in some detail; her Olympic triumphs, her world championship success, her endless victories and her comeback from a two-year injury layoff to break more records (yep, she’s done it before).

A veteran ski journalist explains Lindsey Vonn’s return to downhill racing: why she retired, how her body changed, and what’s at stake when hurtling down a slope on an artificial knee