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The observer | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2023 | ndsmcobserver.com
Lindsey Vonn speaks at Women’s Summit By KELSEY QUINT News Writer
Notre Dame’s Institute for Globa l Investing hosted t he f ift h annua l Women’s Investing Summit ( W IS) Thursday and Friday. Friday’s events k ickstarted w it h an opening keynote speech from former Oly mpian a lpine sk ier, Lindsey Vonn. Vonn is considered one of t he greatest a lpine sk iers of a ll time, w it h 82 world cup w ins and t hree Oly mpic meda ls. First hitting t he slopes at t he age of only 2, Vonn spent most of her life sk iing — retiring in 2019 due to injur y. In her speech at W IS, Vonn a lso discussed her experience in t he sport and her recent transition into business and philant hropy. A mong many jokes and anecdotes, Vonn’s ta lk delivered messages about overcoming adversit y, t he importance of preparation, t he art of being a teammate, stay ing true to one’s self and f ina lly, how to move for ward.
Overcoming adversity, physically and mentally Look ing back on her career, Vonn determined t here was no sing ular “def ining moment.” “I don’t t hink it’s possible to encapsulate my career in, you k now, a brief sentence. I’ve overcome a lot, I t hink, and you k now, maybe above t he w ins, people remember me for t he fact t hat I just kept coming back,” Vonn said. “I’ve been k nocked dow n far too many times. But I t hink my passion for t he sport was a lways ver y apparent. I a lways put my heart on my sleeve.” Vonn’s friend and moderator of t he ta lk, Scott Da hnke, described Vonn’s injuries as somet hing t hat “would have sidelined v irtua lly any ot her competitor for t heir entire career.” Yet, Vonn came back. A lt hough she admits t hat her career was a “roller coaster of adversit y,” it is a lso a well-k now n comeback stor y. W hat t he audience should ta ke away from t his was a message of persistence in a ll facets of life, Vonn said. However, Vonn a lso discussed t he universa l obstacle of gender cha llenges in a ma le-dominated f ield, particularly unequa l pay. “W hen I got to a certain point of success, I kept t hink ing I should be getting paid a litt le bit more … Thank f ully, I had good men around me on t he men’s team. A nd I went t hrough ask ing how much do you
ma ke? A nd t hen, I went back to t he company and said, ‘I want t his much.’ They said, ‘Well, no. You’re a woman,’” Vonn explained. In response to t his, Vonn apparent ly arg ued t hat her ratings, followers and accolades were a ll better t han her ma le counterparts. “A nd t hey said ‘Well, you k now, women just don’t get t hese t y pes of contracts.’” Vonn explained t hat she had to persevere t hrough t his treatment. “I said, ‘Well, I’m going to,’ and I put my foot dow n, I got t he contract t hat I wanted and I kept doing t hat my whole career,” Vonn said. “A nd I w ill say, I t hank t he men for telling me how much t hey made because had I not k now n t hat, I would never have pushed for more. But it’s a lso ask ing t he question, which no woman had ever done.” Through her numerous injuries and her f ight for fair pay, Vonn reca lled her most dif f icult career hurdle: menta l hea lt h. “I struggled a lot w it h depression, being on t he road. You go from w inning World Cups, and you k now, t here are so many people and you’re in front of a ll t he cameras, but it’s actua lly ver y isolating at t he same time. You get back to t he hotel and you’re a lone. A nd it’s a ver y extreme set of emotions,” Vonn said. “It’s hard to ba lance ever y t hing — to stay positive and to not let t hose isolated moments rea lly drag you dow n.” Vonn turned to journa ling and eventua lly opened up about her struggles in 2012. A lt hough Vonn said “just ta lk ing about it was rea lly t herapeutic,” she a lso admitted t hat t he subject of menta l hea lt h was not w idely discussed at t he time. “People would still ask me, ‘are you still struggling w it h depression? Like, are you ta k ing medicine? ’ That’s not how it works. It’s not like a Tylenol t hat you ta ke when, you k now, you feel sad,” Vonn said. “But I t hink we’ve come a long way in t he last 10 years, ta lk ing about menta l hea lt h, how we approach it and how we ta ke care of each ot her.” Vonn of fered adv ice to t hose facing similar cha llenges, positing t hat t here is no one way of coping. “I t hink we a ll have to f ind our ow n way t hrough it. W het her t hat’s journa ling, whet her t hat’s ta lk ing to friends or family, just f inding your ow n way t hrough, and it’s obv iously ver y diff icult. But I t hink at t he end of t he day, sk iing was somet hing t hat brought me a lot of joy, and somet hing
t hat rea lly kept me going. Finding t hat joy in somet hing can be incredibly benef icia l,” Vonn said. “A nd a lso dogs … I would recommend t hree but, you k now, one is solid.”
Trusting preparation for success Vonn dedicated her life to sk iing. From t he age of nine, she had a lready set her sights on becoming an Oly mpic at hlete. Thanks in part to her supportive family, Vonn said her dreams were able to become a rea lit y. However, Vonn tried in her speech on Friday to def ine her moments of success not by t he achievements t hemselves, but by t he culmination of hard work t hat led her to t hose moments. In t his way, she said she appreciates t he journey, not just its pea k. “In a ll wa lks of life, you see t he outcome and you forget about how much work it ta kes to get t here. A nd ever yone wants a shortcut — t here are no shortcuts. If you want somet hing longterm, you have to stick w it h it, and you have to build it,” Vonn said. “A nd t hat’s t he difference bet ween a lot of successf ul people I see and people t hat want to be successf ul, but t hey aren’t rea lly putting in t he work and time.” However, Vonn said t hat, when t he moment to shine one’s ta lents comes around, it is important trust a ll preparation because, “if you don’t believe in yourself, who else w ill.” “There’s no second chances. So you eit her go out on top, or you go out tr y ing,” Vonn said. “I k ind of liked t hose situations where t he only option is to succeed. You k now, because t hat leaves litt le room for doubt or second g uessing yourself. You litera lly just have to t hrow yourself dow n a mountain and hope t hat a ll of your training, your entire life, has amounted to enough.”
Being a good teammate Vonn reca lled one of t he greatest lessons learned at t he Oly mpics as t he power of a team. “W hat I learned over t he course of my career is t hat being a part of a team and work ing toget her is a lot more eff icient for ever yone t han tr y ing to do t hings as an indiv idua l,” Vonn said. “W hen I was f irst on t he team, I felt t he need to prove myself. I didn’t feel like I was rea lly accepted because I was so young and t he veterans were def initely not excited t hat I was t here a ll t he time. I was f ighting so hard
to prove myself t hat I forgot to be a teammate.” Despite t his rough start, Vonn said she eventua lly rea lized t hat t hey “could do a lot more toget her.” “We started to lean on each ot her. We gave each ot her course reports and we ta lked about our tactics and how we’re gonna approach t he course and t he more we ta lked, t he better we a ll got,” Vonn said. “That was some of our best years as a team as a whole … I t hink ever y single person on t he team, 11 of us, had been in t he top f ive t hat season, which is prett y cra z y.” Vonn summed it dow n to simply “elevating each ot her” and f inding support. “You’re a lways going to be competing against yourself, but if you have t he team to support you it ma kes such a big dif ference. I w ish I had learned t hat earlier in my career,” she said.
Moving forward outside of sport A fter a lifetime as a professiona l at hlete, Vonn discussed how she has attempted to move for ward and f ind a new f uel. “My life has a lways revolved around sk iing, and one morning I woke up and t hat was gone. A nd it was rea lly hard to readjust my life,” Vonn said. “I had businesses, I had spea k ing engagements, I had a ll of t hese t hings t hat I have around me t hat I’m ver y t hank f ul for … but w it hout sk iing, I lacked a single goa l.” Vonn said t hat t he adjustment was a process, a sort of sw itching to “a different ca libration in life.” She recognized t hat sk iing
was and a lways w ill be irreplaceable in her life, but indeed t here was room for new endeavors. “I tried to f ind a new passion,” Vonn said. “I’m a lways look ing for a new cha llenge because I need to keep t hose cha llenges coming, because t hat’s what f ulf ills me. So, I have a lot of t hings t hat I’m juggling, but I like juggling. It’s not sk iing, but it’ll do.” According to Vonn, some of her most rewarding work has been w it h t he children of t he Lindsey Vonn Foundation. “Our mission is to empower underser ved girls w it h scholarships and programs,” Vonn said. “So, I do camps and I tr y to teach t hem how to reframe [t he] negative to positive. I tr y to help t hem t hink about body positivit y, socia l media, a ll t hose t hings t hat can drag k ids dow n, and I tr y to empower t hem to be t he best people t hat t hey can be. Because a lot of times, people tell t hem t hat t hey can’t, and I want to tell t hem t hat t hey can.” W hen asked about her legacy, how she wants to be remembered, Vonn remarked t hat it rea lly isn’t up to her. “It’s not rea lly my place to tell people what my legacy is. I’m supposed to do t he best job t hat I can and leave t he best impact t hat I can, and t hen ever yone else w ill ta lk about me as t hey w ill,” Vonn said. “I just hope t hat what I’ve done is not just on t he mountain, but well of f of it.” Contact Kelsey Quint at kquint@nd.edu
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