Lindsey Vonn took another impressive step on the comeback trail as she finished fourth in the super-G in Sankt Anton, Austria, on Sunday, crossing the line 1.24 seconds behind first-time World Cup winner and fellow-American Lauren Macuga.
Vonn, whose right knee was partially replaced in April by a titanium prosthesis enabling her to make a comeback on the circuit at the age of 40 after six years away from the sport, had already taken an impressive sixth place in the downhill on Saturday.
This time, wearing bib No. 31 and in only her third race of the winter, she carved her way smoothly down the piste, nudging in front of Lara Gut-Behrami and finishing 0.32 seconds behind third-placed Federica Brignone.
Vonn said she wasn’t “100%” but her form suggests she may be building well for next month’s World Championships in Saalbach, Austria.
“It was a real rodeo throughout the race,” she said.
“I couldn’t see anything, the visibility was poor. All I did was fight all the way to the finish. Fourth place with these mistakes is good enough.”
The 22-year-old Macuga, meanwhile, danced with joy after her clean run of 1 minute, 17.51 seconds took her to her first-ever World Cup podium.
She finished 0.68 ahead of Austria’s Stephanie Venier and 0.92 clear of Italian Brignone, who won the downhill on Saturday.
Brignone tops the overall standings, 23 points ahead of Croat Zrinka Ljutic, while Gut-Behrami heads the discipline standings, 45 points ahead of Sofia Goggia who failed to finish on Sunday.