How Olympian Lindsey Vonn Ended Up With A Pet Cow

Olympians being cheered on by many is not unusual. But Lindsey Vonn, one of the most decorated skiers in Alpine history, has a cheering section that only she can have — a small herd of large animals around the globe.

In 2014, Vonn told the U.S. ski and snowboard website about Olympe, her first cow, whom she won after winning the 2005 Val d'Isere Downhill in France. According to the site, many ski competitions offer different kinds of animals, like birds or reindeer, that they expect the winner to "trade in" for cash. But, Olympe was too cute for Vonn to trade. She refused the prize money in favor of keeping the cow, which turned out to be a smart investment for the athlete who makes more than you think (most of it in actual money).

"[The Alpine Director] had to go and negotiate for my cow," Vonn explained. "That cow is apparently worth $20,000 and they weren't intending on actually giving it away. They assumed I would just want the $5K." Olympe went to live with a ski instructor near where the athlete trained in Austria, who had barn space. The female cow was pregnant with a calf that Vonn named Sunny, and later got pregnant again with one she named Karin. Sunny eventually got pregnant with male and female calves she named Don and Shirley, respectively, after her grandparents. Vonn also won a goat in 2009 that she gave to a farmer near Olympe. She said she hadn't visited the cow in years, but knew the farmer added an addition to his barn for her. 

Although she doesn't keep her large animals on her 24-acre property in Utah, Lindsey Vonn is a known dog lover who maintains an Instagram account for her rescue dogs, Chance and Leo. She's also been mom to Lucy and Bear, who died in 2025 and 2022. In 2020, she told Graham Bensinger the story of Leo's rescue.

He was hit by a car in Florida, so one of his back legs is shorter than the others. She met him right before she was to undergo knee surgery and planned to make a run for the 2014 Olympics. "The rescue shelter actually tried to convince me not to take him because he was so messed up," she recalled. "And, I was actually on crutches at the time, so I was like, 'If you didn't notice, I'm also messed up, so he's perfect.'" The dog has been by her side for multiple amazing career transformations.

Vonn reflected on Instagram about how Leo, her first rescue dog, helped her endure the pain of injuries and tragedy through her career. "He never likes it when I cry but he always knows when I'm hurt and he doesn't leave my side. I think he knows what it feels like," she wrote in 2024.