Lindsey Vonn is 29 and will be 33 when the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea roll around. Sadly, she was unable to compete in the Games at Sochi because of a knee injury, but despite her age, she has some faith heading into the 2018 Games thanks to Bode Miller.
Miller is 36 and became the oldest alpine skier to win an Olympics medal when he won bronze in the super-G.
“It gives me a little confidence going into Pyeongchang in four years. I’ll be 33. If Bode can do it, I can do it,” Vonn said during an appearance on “Today” per For The Win.
Skiing is no different from most sports in that most athletes are at their peak in their 20s. In order to win an Olympics medal, you have to be one of the top three in the world at that particular event. As athletes age, their bodies lose strength, recover slower from injuries, and their reaction times worsen. All of these issues contribute to most Olympians — especially ones in high-intensity sports like skiing — from being able to compete at the highest of levels as they get older. Not only that, but most skiers have blown out their knees so many times by the time they’re 30, competing is less realistic. If anything will prevent Vonn from competing in the next Olympics, my money would be on another knee injury because those are so common.
