Alpine skiing-Vonn to return to World Cup racing

Lindsey Vonn will make her return to the World Cup circuit for the first time in nearly six years in two super Gs in St. Moritz, Switzerland on Dec. 21-22, the Olympic gold medallist said on Friday.

The 40-year-old speed specialist retired in February 2019 citing the physical toll the sport had taken on her body but, following partial knee replacement surgery in April, she announced she was making a comeback last month.

Vonn returned to competition with four races in Copper Mountain, Colorado last weekend, which led her to decide to compete at St. Moritz.

"What changed was that I was put back together again," Vonn told a press conference.

"I had been struggling with injuries since my first ACL in 2013 and I've pretty much been injured every year after that. The last few years of my career were more challenging than I let on," she said.

"But I feel stronger now than I did in my late 20s. The passion for skiing has never gone away, I just wasn't physically able to do it anymore.

"So now that I have the chance to physically do what I love, why would I not try? Life is short. You've got to live every day to the maximum and that's all I'm doing."

She said her entire outlook changed after having bone in her knee replaced with titanium, which allowed her to straighten her right leg completely for the first time in years.

"It was pretty soon after surgery and in the rehab process that I was already doing things that I hadn't done in years," she said.

"My body was just functioning better. Obviously I am a lot happier because I'm not in pain 24 hours a day.

"I'm getting stronger and better and faster than I was for a long, long period of time."

The four-time overall World Cup champion, who has 82 World Cup wins to her name and three