American skier Lindsey Vonn has finally released an update on her health following her brutal crash in the women’s downhill competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
Vonn, 41, came into the event carrying an injury after rupturing ligaments in her left knee just nine days before the Milan-Cortina Games.
However, the American, who has three Olympic medals to her name, struck a gate after losing balance just 13 seconds into Sunday’s (February 8) downhill competition in Cortina.
The skier crashed into the snow and was left screaming in pain before being airlifted to a Treviso hospital.
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It was later confirmed that the 2010 Olympic gold medallist had undergone surgery after fracturing her left leg.
Then, on Monday evening (February 9), Vonn finally spoke out on social media and offered an update on her condition.
The 41-year-old claimed that her “past injuries” and ACL tear “had nothing to do” with Sunday’s crash while saying she still “had no regrets” about her decision to compete while injured.
Alongside a photograph of herself in action, Vonn wrote: “Yesterday, my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing, the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.
“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.
“While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.
“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.
“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.
“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.
“I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”
It is unclear whether Vonn will retire, having returned to the sport in 2024 after a six-year hiatus.
Topics: Injury
Luke Davies