Despite Injury, Lindsey Vonn Amongst Athletes Nominated to U.S. Ski Team

On Wednesday, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team published its team nominations for the 2026/27 season.

Athletes are nominated to the team in May, based on qualifications and eligibility; however, athletes must adhere to team expectations before spots can be officially accepted. The official team announcement doesn’t take place until October, ahead of the winter season.

48 athletes were nominated across the alpine, freeski, cross-country, aerials, moguls, nordic combined, para alpine, para nordic, and ski jump disciplines. Amongst the nominated alpine ski athletes were familiar names such as Mikaela Shiffrin, who currently holds her third overall World Cup title, Breezy Johnson, who took gold in downhill at the Olympics, and Lauren Macuga, who tore her ACL last season.

Notably, Lindsey Vonn was also nominated to the US Alpine A Team. Nominations to the A Team were based on athletes achieving either a top-three individual result at the 2026 Olympic Games or being ranked in the top 25 on the FIS World Cup Start List (WCSL).

WCSL rankings were assessed on April 1, 2026, to allow for the addition of any injured athletes to the list.

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At the start of the 2025/26 season, Vonn said she planned to retire (again) after the Olympics and World Cup seasons. Her season was ultimately cut short after a crash at the Olympics that resulted in eight surgeries and nearly the loss of her leg. She was also skiing on a torn ACL at the time of the crash, which has yet to be repaired. Prior to the crash, Vonn was ranked first in World Cup standings and had only dropped to 5th by the end of the season.

Vonn recently took her first steps out of a wheelchair since the crash to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday, May 5. Vonn walked with a custom cane, made by designer Thom Browne, who also made Vonn’s dress. In March, Vonn told Vanity Fair that she doesn’t “like to close the door on anything because you never know what’s going to happen,” when asked if she’d return to ski racing.

The 2026/27 World Cup season begins in late October in Soelden, Austria, with giant slalom races. Vonn’s torn ACL repair alone puts her further than five months away from skiing (although she’s proved she doesn’t really need an ACL to ski…). Teams will be officially announced prior to the first World Cup of the season.

Related: Skiers On The Red Carpet: Eileen Gu, Lindsey Vonn Shine at Met Gala