SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — Lindsey Vonn expressed regret for her reaction on social media after discovering that she would not be teamed up with Mikaela Shiffrin for the upcoming team combined race at the skiing world championships. Vonn, 40, had been advocating for a partnership with Shiffrin, envisioning it as a “dream team” for this new event, which is set to debut at the Olympics next year.
Upon seeing Shiffrin announce on her Instagram that she would be competing alongside Breezy Johnson, the newly crowned downhill world champion, Vonn took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice her discontent. “Why am I not surprised?” she wrote on Monday, accompanied by a shrug emoji. However, she later deleted that post and issued a more reflective statement.
“Maybe I didn’t help myself or the team by having my Twitter fingers out,” Vonn admitted. “But at the same time, I’m a human being and I was disappointed in the communication. I have feelings, and I expressed them.”
The combined event consists of one athlete racing downhill and another competing in slalom, with their times combined to determine the overall result. In the latest race, Johnson and Shiffrin claimed gold, while Vonn and her partner AJ Hurt finished in 16th place following a challenging downhill leg that initially put them in 21st after the morning run.
Vonn was absent from the podium celebrations for Johnson and Shiffrin as she rushed to catch a flight for a ski school event in Switzerland later that day. Nonetheless, she congratulated her teammates via X, exclaiming, “What a team!!!”
American skier Lauren Macuga led the downhill segment, with Johnson finishing fourth. Vonn’s performance placed her one spot above Andorra’s Cande Moreno in a competitive field of 26, clocking in 2.51 seconds behind Macuga.
“I was in my tuck pretty much the whole way down and just not accelerating anywhere,” said Vonn, who has returned to competition this season after a nearly six-year hiatus. “Clearly, I have work to do. I think it’s my boots that I have to adjust, but changing my entire setup during the world championships is tough.”
The pairings for the combined event were determined by the U.S. team coaching staff based on the athletes’ best performances in both downhill and slalom this season. Vonn agreed with the selection process but emphasized frustration with the communication aspect. “It was 100% the right decision. Breezy and Mikaela should be the pair. They’re the fastest two skiers… The only issue was I found out about it on Instagram. A simple call or text would have sufficed; that’s not too much to ask.”
Vonn had previously reached out to Shiffrin, who echoed the sentiment of wanting to race together. However, she later learned that Shiffrin would not be competing in the combined event until she saw her announcement on social media.
“It would have been great for those two legends to compete together, but at this time, others are showing stronger performances,” U.S. speed coach Alex Hoedlmoser commented. “We needed to pair the fastest competitors, and it was clear that Breezy was the fastest in downhill, which is why she was paired with Mikaela.”
