Lindsey Vonn Says She Still Hasn't Deleted Her Late Mom's Contact or Texts from Her Phone (Exclusive)

The Olympic skier's mom Lindy Anne Lund died from ALS in 2022

Lindsey Vonn is speaking candidly about coping with her mother's death.

The Olympic alpine skier, 39, hit the red carpet at the TIME 2024 Women of the Year Gala in West Hollywood, California, earlier this week, when she spoke to PEOPLE about continuing to deal with the death of her mom, Lindy Anne Lund, from ALS.

Reflecting on some of the fondest memories she has of her mother — who died in 2022, a year after being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease — Vonn revealed that she still keeps her mom’s contact information and texts in her phone.

“She used to send texts,” the athlete said. “We had a family group chat, and she would send text messages almost every day with different inspirational quotes. I've got a million of them, and I always actually look back at them.”

“I'm kind of getting to the point now where ... it's always been something that made me happy to look back [on], but I always cried,” she continued. "So I am kind of getting to the point now where I can look back with happy memories and not completely break down.”

“I spontaneously combust a lot still,” Vonn added. “So it's a work in progress, but it's nice to have those things that you can look back to. And I haven't deleted her off my phone. She's still my number one on my text chain.”

Related: Lindsey Vonn Shares Inspiring Message Post-Surgery as She Reflects on Tough Times: 'Believe in Yourself'

After Lund died from ALS, a representative for Vonn wrote in a statement to PEOPLE that Vonn “was incredibly grateful for the time she spent with her since the diagnosis and to be there by her side at her passing.”

"ALS is a devastating disease and one that has not yet found a cure,” the statement added. "In honor of her mother's relentless fighting spirit, Lindsey is dedicated to learning more and helping bring additional awareness to this deadly disease.”

In her recent conversation with PEOPLE, Vonn detailed that her mom was "always a great example, and I try to live by that."

“Sometimes I wake up, and I'm tired and I'm not in a great mood and I don't have the right outlook, and I don't seize every opportunity,” she continued. "And I have to reset myself sometimes and just think about my mom and how she approached every day.”

Vonn also noted that working out is a major outlet that allows her to remain positive in the face of grief.

“As hard as it may be sometimes, just take a step back, reset, take a breath,” she explained. “That's why working out for me is so important. I think it resets my mind and clears anything that I've got bottled up and just allows me to really go out there with a different mindset, with a positive mindset. But it's not always easy."

Related: Lindsey Vonn Reflects on Guilt She Felt Over Mother's Stroke: It's 'Hard for Me to Process' (Exclusive)

In a February interview on the Getting Grilled with Curtis Stone podcast, Vonn said she once had to get back to working out after her mom had a stroke.

“My mom had a stroke when she had me, and she was permanently disabled,” she explained on the HSN+ series. “And she couldn’t run, she couldn’t ever ski with me, she couldn’t ride a bike, and so in my mind, I’m sitting here thinking I’m doing what I love to do.”

Related: Lindsey Vonn Reflects on Guilt She Felt Over Mother's Stroke: It's 'Hard for Me to Process' (Exclusive)

She continued, “My mother can’t, so why should I sit here and be Debbie Downer? I need to get my a-- back in the gym and back to the slopes and continue to do what I love to do and utilize that opportunity I’ve been given.”

Vonn also said that she considered her mother an “amazing athlete,” and felt an “obligation” to achieve her best.

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“It is something that is hard for me to process because I always felt really guilty,” Vonn told the chef when asked how her mother's health drove her. “My mom — having me, hurt my mother and so that was a really hard thing for me to take on and I always felt guilty.”

“It’s hard that she’s not here. It’s still something I feel so guilty about, but I think it drove me and it helped me and she wouldn’t want it any other way," she added.

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