Olympian and female alpine World Cup win record holder Lindsey Vonn has called Park City home for the past couple of years. Now, the community will be benefitting from her work to give back to a cause close to her heart – youth sports.
“We've always had the gala in Vail I used to live there as most people know,” Vonn explained. “But I also used to live in Park City. So, when I moved back here, two years ago, we really want to kind of move the foundation gala here as well. And of course, we want to be involved in the community here as well. So, we're really excited to host the gala on May 20, at the Goldener Hirsch.”
Tickets to the Fellas and Flappers gala celebrating the 1920s are $350 a person. Proceeds she says will support the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which she established in 2015 to give future generations the tools they need to reach their goals.
“The premise of my foundation is really to inspire youth and to be able to give them opportunity to achieve their dreams through scholarships and programs,” Vonn said.
Funds will also help support the foundation’s #STRONGgirls summer camps for underserved girls – a camp she hopes to bring to Park City. Their goal is $250,000.
Tickets are online at lindseyvonnfoundation.org.
For the last 40 years, Jan’s Winter Welcome every October has raised money to support local youth with scholarships. Vonn hopes Park City will also support her spring fundraiser to help kids across the country with their athletic and academic pursuits.
“And I know that there's already a lot of, as you mentioned, a lot of established local charities but I think there's, there's a lot of girls nationwide that need our support, and I'm hoping that you know, we can all group together and accomplish our goals.”
Vonn retired from the U.S. Ski Team in 2019 with 82 World Cup wins, second only to Ingemar Stenmark, who retired with 86. She says she didn’t want to hang up her race skis, but her body forced her to.
I physically could not keep skiing any longer. It wasn't a matter of will, in any way, or my willingness to work hard. But I had nine surgeries on my knees, and I only really count the big ones. So, it was quite a few surgeries. I mean, I was skiing with no LCL. I had three fractures in my knee when I when I actually got my last World Championship medal, which was my final race. So, it just unfortunately, wasn't in the cards for me to continue.
Her only disappointment she adds is that FIS didn’t allow her to compete in a men’s world cup race. She says she would have hoped to finish in the top 20.
“I definitely wasn't delusional of winning a men's race. They are stronger, they are faster. And I knew that,” Vonn said.
These days, Vonn says she’s back skiing and having fun. She’s written her memoir, Rise, that was published in January. She co- directed a film, Picabo, a feature-length documentary that pays homage to another Park City resident, Picabo Street.
She also looks forward to doing more commentary work at future Olympic games. In addition, Vonn has her own Head skis and goggle lines and serves as the first global ambassador for the Under Armour Project Rock collection.
