Legendary ski racer Lindsey Vonn retired from the sport in 2019, saying back then, her body was telling her “It’s time.” On Saturday, Dec. 21, at age 40, Vonn will return to the starting gate during a competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland with what she called a new lease on life.

Vonn, an 8-time world champion who has 82 world cup wins under her belt, dealt with serious knee issues for nearly half of her two decades racing. In April 2024, she underwent a titanium knee replacement and couldn’t believe the results.

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“It has changed my life entirely,” Vonn told NBC Sports. “I used to think about my knee pretty much every second of every day. I wake up and it’s sore and it’s swollen, and I go on a hike with my friends 7-year-old and it’s, ‘Aunt Linds has to take a break after 10 minutes.’ It was really hard.”

After rehab and playing other sports like tennis, she decided to get back on the slopes just to see how it would feel. After a couple months of testing, Vonn said she feels as good as she has in 15 years.

“I never imagined I would come out of surgery and within a few days and have a completely different life,” Vonn said. “I never thought that would happen.”

Her return, however, is being met with skepticism, most surprisingly, from fellow skiers.

Two-time Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister, who competed with Vonn at the Olympics in 2006, suggested, “Vonn should see a psychologist,” adding on Austrian TV, “does she want to kill herself?”

Franz Klammer, a legendary Austrian ski racer in the 1970s, said “she’s gone completely mad.”

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, Vonn called out some of the skiers on X.

“You know, I’m getting pretty tired of people predicting negative things about my future,” Vonn said. “It’s enough now. Bernard, Sonja and now Primin… is there a reason all former Swiss skiers think this way? Did they all become doctors, and I missed it, because they talk like they know more than the best doctors in the world.”

You know, I’m getting pretty tired of people predicting negative things about my future. It’s enough now. Bernard, Sonja and now Primin… is there a reason all former Swiss skiers think this way? Did they all become doctors and I missed it, because they talk like they know more…

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) December 18, 2024

Despite her critics, Vonn said she will slowly work herself back into form, officially starting in St. Mortiz, a mountain where she won five races previously.

Vonn served as the forerunner on the course during the Birds of Prey series in Beaver Creek, Colorado, during the weekend of Dec. 14, just up the road from her long-time home, Vail. The forerunner skis the course just before the first racer to check conditions.

Her ultimate goal is to race for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.