Lindsey Vonn, 41, Has a Refreshing Take on Body Image, Admits 'I Don't Need to Be Skinny' (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Lindsey Vonn opens up to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about her candid thoughts on body image
• The 41-year-old athlete, who is racing again at the 2026 Winter Olympics, six years after retirement, admits, "I don't need to be skinny"
• Vonn is hoping to change people's perspectives regarding what women can do in their 40s

Lindsey Vonn is currently making history, and when she hits the slopes at the 2026 Winter Olympics — whether or not she wins — she'll break records for being the oldest female Alpine ski race competitor in The Games' history.

“I want to show people that it’s not a disadvantage to be old," the athlete, 41, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview of getting back to the sport she loves so much after six years of retirement.

"I love challenging people's perspectives, and this is an amazing opportunity to do that. Also, my age is an advantage here," she continues. "I've had a lot of experience as a veteran athlete. I've skied these tracks four times more than anyone else. Plus, I like breaking records. So if I'm the oldest woman? So be it."

Vonn also hopes to change others' thoughts when it comes to body image. "I mean, big butts will always be in," she teases, nodding to her recent weight gain of 12 lbs.

"But I gained muscle and weight because ski racing is a gravity sport, so I need the mass," Vonn adds. "The more I weigh, the faster I go."

"I don't need to be skinny," the Olympic champion continues. "I lost a lot of weight last year due to stress, and I worked hard to put it back on."

"And really, you should just be proud of your body and what it can do for you. Like, I just need to be strong. And I'm just as strong as I was, if not stronger," Vonn then tells PEOPLE.

As for why she came out of retirement after a significant time away from the sport, Vonn explains it was tied to a knee replacement she had in 2024 that left her free of pain for the first time in years.

“My body was so different,” she recalls. “I didn’t have any pain at all, my knee didn’t swell. I felt like I could do anything. The thought of ski racing again, something I loved to do so much, but without pain, was really exciting.”

Vonn also admits to PEOPLE that she didn’t love the way she’d been forced to call it quits from her beloved sport in 2019.

“I built an amazing life and was really happy in retirement,” the sports star, who focused mostly on her philanthropy while retired, says.

“But I didn’t finish my career the way I wanted to," she continues. "I was limping away when I wanted to finish strong.” 

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan-Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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