SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — With challenging descents, expansive terrain, and steep slopes, the downhill course at the Alpine skiing world championships would have posed a significant challenge for Lindsey Vonn’s legs prior to her retirement in 2019. However, with a titanium replacement in her right knee, she feels confident tackling the course now.

“This is probably the worst hill for someone with bad knees, but I felt great,” Vonn remarked after finishing 20th in the first training session held on Tuesday. “None of the landings hurt at all.”

Returning to competitive skiing at the age of 40 last December, Vonn initially had no intention of participating in the world championships. Nevertheless, her impressive progress has led her to sign up for the super-G event on Thursday, the downhill race on Saturday, and the team combined event set for next week.

Regarding her performance during training, Vonn expressed, “I was just taking it easy.” She found the course enjoyable, likening it to her days learning downhill skiing in Vail where the terrain was quite similar, making it a fun experience for her.

During the training session, Lara Gut-Behrami, Breezy Johnson, and Federica Brignone claimed the top three spots. Athletes have two additional training runs leading up to the downhill race scheduled for Saturday.

Vonn emphasized the non-competitive nature of training runs for her, stating, “I really put zero weight into training runs because I’m testing things.” She noted that she was experimenting with different gear, wearing her jacket, protective pads, and trying out new boots, which was a novel approach for her during training sessions.

In a recent interview, Vonn conveyed her primary ambition for her comeback is to compete in the next season’s Milan-Cortina Olympics, after which she plans to retire once again. “This season,” she explained, “is all about figuring out what it’s going to take to be successful next year.”