Lindsey Vonn reacts to Sofia Goggia’s heartwarming note for the American as skiing season kicks off

Lindsey Vonn gets emotional as the Italian skier, Sofia Goggia, penned a heartwarming note for the American on her own birthday. The Italian expressed her admiration for the 41-year-old, showing the place Vonn has created for herself in the skiing world.

Vonn is currently training and preparing for the 2025-26 skiing season, with her primary goal being the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina. Currently, she is in her downhill training with several other skiers.

Amid this, one of her competitors, Goggia, opened up about her feelings for Vonn as the skiing season kicked off. Calling the American an inspiration and revealing how she felt about training with her, she penned a message on Instagram.

In addition to this, she also posted a few pictures with Vonn, seemingly from their training session. The note read:

"The other day, as I was warming up for the upcoming downhill training, I turned to my Skiman and said, excited like a child and smiling, "Today we're training with the Queen eh." He nodded answering that "she's someone who has made the history of this sport." Training and competing with @lindseyvonn always excites me, a bit as if it was the first time, and it's really nice that this happiness still crosses me today, despite the fact that sharing this life on skiing together may now be, in so many ways, something normal and solid. It’s our passion as well as our job," wrote Goggia.

She added:

"There are people who are a constant source of energy and inspiration, who illuminate our path even in the darkest moments, who have the power to leave an indelible mark. Lindsey has always been my idol and I deeply believe that without her I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today."

Here is the full caption:

Goggia's gesture was appreciated by Vonn. The 41-year-old commented under the post:

"You are the best! You inspire me just as much and I'm so thankful I get to race with you for one more year❤️" wrote Lindsey Vonn.

Lindsey Vonn's comment on Instagram

The 41-year-old also penned a heartfelt wish for Goggia on her 33rd birthday on her Instagram story.

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Lindsey Vonn revealed why she ended her skiing career six years ago

Lindsey Vonn recently sat for a conversation with King 5 Seattle, where she opened up about the real reason behind retiring from skiing in 2019. She said that even if she wished to participate in any activity then, her body couldn't take the stress. She said that she took the final decision because of the physical restrictions she was facing. (4:02 onwards)

"If I want to play tennis for two hours, I actually can't. If I want to go hiking or biking or scuba diving or whatever I want to do, or race in the Olympics, my body is saying yes, and for the longest time, it said no. I retired because my body couldn't take it anymore, not because I personally wanted to end my career,"

Vonn further said that she is now grateful to be back to the sport and have the opportunity to say goodbye on her own terms.

Edited by Tushhita Barua