Comeback queen

Vonn and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway pose with their women and men’s World Cup super-G titles, in Schladming, Austria, on March 15, 2012. Svindal will now serve as Vonn’s coach. — AP

WHEN Olympic ski racing champion Lindsey Vonn ended a five-year retirement to launch a conspicuous and successful comeback last winter at the age of 40, she noticed a major change in her interactions with the public. In airports, hotels and restaurants, she found herself being approached by people who knew little about sports, and absolutely nothing about ski racing.

What the people found irresistible was Vonn’s new folk-hero status in the modern phenomenon of the aging professional athlete. And they felt a kinship with her ongoing quest.