CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- Sofia Goggia solidified her status as the favorite for another downhill gold by winning Saturday for the fourth time on the course for next year's Olympics.
Lindsey Vonn, meanwhile, still has some work to do before she reaches the podium in her World Cup comeback at age 40.
Vonn finished 20th after wasting speed worthy of a top-10 finish with a mistake toward the end of her run.
"The fact that I'm back here is a miracle in itself," Vonn said. "I'm a little disappointed that I made that big mistake on the bottom -- I made actually quite a few mistakes on the bottom."
It was Vonn's first race back in Cortina after nearly six years of retirement -- at age 40 with a new titanium knee. She holds the record of 12 wins at the resort in the Italian Dolomites.
"I know everyone wants me to get right back on the podium, but it has been six years. This is the fastest course with the most terrain that I've skied," Vonn added. "I'm still getting my downhill legs."
Vonn told The Associated Press on Thursday that she plans to retire again after next year's Milan-Cortina Games.
Goggia added to her Cortina downhill victories in 2018, 2022 and 2023. After she came to a stop in the finish area, the charismatic Italian quickly removed her skis and bowed down toward the Olympia delle Tofane course and the big crowd cheering her on.
"Cortina means the world to me," Goggia said.
Goggia already won a downhill gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and then took silver in Beijing three years ago.
On a typically perfectly sunny day in Cortina, Goggia finished a comfortable 0.42 seconds ahead of Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway and 0.55 ahead of Italian teammate Federica Brignone, who finished on the podium for the first time in Cortina.
Lie also finished second in this race two years ago.
It was the second win this season for Goggia and the 26th of her career. She's finished in the top 5 of every race that she's finished this season.
Vonn finished 1.68 behind Goggia. The American standout returned to the circuit last month when she finished 14th in a super-G in St. Moritz. Then she placed sixth and fourth in a downhill and a super-G, respectively, in St. Anton, Austria, last weekend.
Swiss Olympic champions Lara Gut-Behrami and Corinne Suter placed fourth and fifth, respectively, and defending downhill World Cup champion Cornelia Huetter placed sixth.
Jacqueline Wiles in seventh was the top American finisher.
A super-G is scheduled for Sunday in Cortina and Vonn will be back in the top 30 of the start list for the first time of her comeback.
"Hopefully," Vonn said, "tomorrow I can make a mistake-free run."