“I Felt Hopeless, Empty, Like a Zombie”: Lindsey Vonn Once Recalled the Darkest Phase of Her Skiing Career

Lindsey Vonn, the three-time Olympic medallist, and world champion alpine skier is also a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, investor, founder of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation and dog mom. Vonn, a person with such a distinctive, multi-faceted personality who handles a variety of issues with ease, previously struggled to deal with life.

The skiing icon started skiing in 1999 at the age of 14. Her career graph showed a rising trend in her wins. In her two-decade-long career, she skied past to win three Olympic medals, and 82 world cup victories making her an all-time leader in the sport. Despite a great career, there was a time when the Olympic sensation faced issues with depression and felt disconnected from herself.

Lindsey Vonn confesses about her struggles

It is undeniable that one can display great pace only if they are heedless of the dangers of vulnerability. It applies to both sports and life. Especially a sport like skiing demands enormous mental strength. The attempts to face challenges come with a huge cost: helplessness, depression, and lack of clarity to name a few. The story of the skiing great is more or less similar to this.

In an interview in 2012, the Olympic gold medalist skier, admitted that she has quietly suffered depression for a long time and began taking anti-depressants to manage her symptoms.

READ MORE: “I’m Not Going to Back Down”: Lindsey Vonn Reacts to Horrible Comments Targeted at Her While She Was Competing Professionally

“Everything about my life seemed so perfect to people. But I struggle like everyone else,” Vonn confessed.

She continued that, at one point in 2008, “I couldn’t get out of bed anymore. I felt hopeless, empty, like a zombie.”

Vonn marches forward

The alpine skiing legend has always shown the world that she knows her way out. As much as Vonn loves questions and challenges, she also ventures to seek answers and solutions. Also, she makes choices by being aware of herself, her surroundings, and the challenges within and around her. One such choice she made was choosing happiness by embracing herself. 

“I feel like I just needed to get everything off my chest,” she said realizing that she had the control to make a difference in her life. She made some crucial decisions including divorcing her ex-husband, Thomas Vonn, also her longtime manager and coach. Vonn also dealt head-on with self-image difficulties related to her discomfort with other ladies on the red carpet stating boldly that ‘Strong is beautiful’.

“All the parts of my life are finally in sync,” the warrior skier said. “I accept who I am, and I’m moving forward.”

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The skiing racer retired in 2019. Yet, she has been making great strides as a businesswoman with a second collaboration with a sunglasses brand, touring to promote her book, ‘Rise: My Story,’ and also becoming one of the nine women who were inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame in June 2022.