Lindsey Vonn suffers heartbreaking tragedy days after Olympic crash as dog passes away
US skiing legend Lindsey Vonn has announced that her dog, Leo, passed away on the day after her horrific crash in the women's downhill final at the Winter Olympics.
Vonn, 41, was looking to become the oldest alpine skiier, male or female, to win an Olympic medal in Cortina.
But she crashed out just 13 seconds into her run after her right ski pole clipped an outside timing gate, causing her to fall off-balance while in mid-air.
The impact caused her to roll down the course several times before she came to a halt.
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Vonn was treated at the course and then airlifted to the Ca' Foncello Hospital in Treviso.
It was subsequently confirmed that the American had suffered a left leg fracture.
That was in addition to her previously torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the same knee - an injury which suffered in a crash just nine days before the Olympic final.
She is set to have her fifth surgery on her broken leg on Thursday, having now been transported back to the United States.
Vonn has been 'immobile' since her Olympic crash, stating that she has not 'stood on my feet in over a week'.
She has also confirmed that her dog, Leo, passed away at the age of 13 while she was still in Italy.
"This has been an incredibly hard few days," she wrote on Instagram. "Probably the hardest of my life. I have still not come to terms that he is gone.
"The day I crashed, so did Leo. He had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer but now his heart was falling him.
"He was in pain and his body could no longer keep up with his strong mind.
"As I laid in my hospital bed the day after my crash, we said goodbye to my big boy. I had lost so much that meant something to me in such a short of amount of time. I can't believe it.
"My boy has been with me since my second ACL surgery, when I needed him most. We have been through so much together in 13 years.
"There will never be another Leo. He will always be my first love.
"Heading in for more surgery today. Will be thinking of him when I close my eyes. I will love you forever my big boy."
Ryan Smart