Six years into retirement, at age 40, and just eight months after undergoing partial knee replacement surgery, Lindsey Vonn stepped back onto the podium last weekend in Sun Valley, tears in her eyes, silver medal in hand, and disbelief from the world swirling around her.

Everyone was surprised—except her.

This wasn’t just a return to competition. It was a seismic reminder that age, injury, and expectation don’t define us; our mindset does.

There are several lessons here for all of us:

Lesson 1: 40 Isn’t What It Used to Be

A generation ago, 40 meant slowing down. Today, it’s a new kind of starting line. From personal experience, I can tell you that 66 for me doesn’t look anything like I thought it would. We’re aging differently (and more powerfully) than ever before. The rules are changing.

Lesson 2: Modern Medicine Is Magic

Let’s be clear: Vonn didn’t just return to any sport. She returned to World Cup-level alpine skiing. This is a sport that takes place on slopes as steep as black diamonds, covered not in soft powder but ice hardened by water injection. Speeds exceed 60 mph. The strength, balance, and mental focus required are beyond elite.

That she’s doing this after knee reconstruction? It’s nothing short of astonishing and a testament to how far surgical and rehab technologies have come.

Lesson 3: Never Count Out a Singular Mindset

Lindsey Vonn isn’t “normal.” Not even by Olympian standards. She’s one of those rare humans who operate with a level of belief and drive that makes the impossible feel inevitable. If you’ve ever met someone like this, you know: they don’t quit. They rise. Again and again.

And yet, the criticism came. The ageism. The doubt. These last eight months, so much hate and disbelief were thrown her way, telling her to sit down, let the younger people compete, that she was finished and had no right to be there. 

Lindsay stood on that podium for all who have been told we can’t, we shouldn’t, or we are not capable. She knew she could perform at this level. And even if Lindsay never races again and is never on another podium, what happened last Sunday in Sun Valley is what greatness looks like. We are all so much stronger, braver, and more capable than we have been told. This is Super Age.