When it comes to her comeback on the slopes at age 40, Lindsey Vonn says she is just as surprised as anyone else.

“I always thought (my career) was over,” Vonn, one of the greatest skiers of all time, told NBC on Tuesday.

After all, Vonn herself had said her body was “broken beyond repair” when she decided to retire in 2019 – coming after 18 years on the World Cup circuit, three Winter Olympic medals, eight world championship medals and 82 World Cup race wins.

But months after undergoing a successful partial knee replacement surgery and opting to return to the sport, Vonn is encouraged by how she feels.

“When I got out of surgery, I just felt so good. I had no more pain,” Vonn said. “All the things that had been bothering me for so many years were suddenly gone, and I thought, ‘OK, well if I feel this good playing tennis and doing all the things I love, what about skiing?’ So I just feel like this is an adventure.”

On Saturday, Vonn competed in a couple of lower-level downhill events in Colorado, finishing 24th in the first race and 27th in the second at Copper Mountain. In two super-G races Sunday, Vonn finished 24th and 19th.

In a post Saturday on X, Vonn called the results a “solid start,” and that the FIS points she earned are enough to compete in the World Cup circuit.

“I’m really enjoying this journey,” Vonn said. “No one has ever done this with a knee replacement before, so honestly I don’t know how far I can take it. But so far it’s been incredible. The response has been incredible. And I can tell you I am having so much fun going fast again.”

Vonn said that the site of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina, the same spot where she’s had previous success, is “definitely not a factor” in what she’s doing now.

“If I can, let’s see what happens,” Vonn said. “But I don’t want to put any expectations on it.”

CNN’s Ben Church contributed to this report.

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