Lindsey Vonn wants to partner up with Mikaela Shiffrin in the Alpine World Championships: ‘That would be one of the coolest things ever’

The 40-year-old announced her ambition to compete with Shiffrin in the new combined event at Saalbach 2025: “I’ve told my coaches that I want to,” Vonn stated.

Lindsey Vonn, an Alpine Skiing great, expressed her desire to compete with Mikaela Shiffrin in a new combined event at the World Championships in Saalbach, Austria (4-16 February).

“I’d love to race with Mikaela; it would be incredible, and I believe it would be one of the coolest things ever to have both of us competing on the same team,” the 40-year-old told German wire service dpa.

The new combined event, set to debut at the 2026 Olympics in Milano Cortina, pairs two specialists instead of one skier. One skier will compete in a downhill and the other in a slalom, with the fastest aggregate time determining the winner.

The women’s event in Saalbach is set for Tuesday, February 11. Each nation may enter multiple teams.

Shiffrin (99) and Vonn (82) are the most successful female athletes in World Cup history. Shiffrin has 62 slalom wins, while Vonn has 43 downhill victories. “We’ve won 181 World Cups together. “I’ve told my coaches that I want to,” Vonn said.

Shiffrin returns to action this week in Courchevel, following an abdominal injury in November.

The 29-year-old has yet to reveal her plans for the World Championships, although she is likely to compete mainly in technical events (slalom and giant slalom) in Saalbach.

“Mikaela hasn’t been back skiing yet, at least not with the team, so we’ll see how she feels. But if she’s racing at the World Championships, I’d assume she’s talented enough to race in the team event,” Vonn added.

The Vancouver 2010 gold champion, who recently came fourth in the super-G in St. Anton, is optimistic about her chances to medal in Saalbach.