US Athlete Airlifted To Hospital After Horror Moment At Winter Olympics
Lindsey Vonn crashed out just days after rupturing her ACL a World Cup event in Switzerland.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Olympics
Josh Lawless
Topics: Olympics
A decorated US skier was airlifted to hospital after crashing out of the women's downhill final at the Winter Olympics.
Lindsey Vonn was hoping to deliver a medal for America in her discipline at the Milan-Cortina event but the odds were already stacked against her after the incredible risk she took in competing.
On 30 January, at a World Cup race in Switzerland, the 41-year-old tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) as well as suffering a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
Vonn was desperate to participate given it would be her final Olympics and said she had no swelling or pain in her knee.
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She had two successful training exercises, but on Sunday, disaster struck in her final run.
Nine days after completely rupturing her ACL, Vonn crashed out 13 seconds in at the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina - clipping a flag and being sent flying on the piste at a frightening speed.
Medics were quickly on the scene as Vonn screamed in pain. She was carried away on a gurney and taken to hospital via helicopter.
Vonn was also entered in the super-G and team events and though her injuries have not been disclosed, it appears as though her Olympic campaign is over.
She retired in 2019 and was the most successful female skier when she called time on her career.
After undergoing successful a partial knee replacement, she came out of retirement in 2024 and was on the podium in all five races in the 2025/26 season.
Vonn won Olympic gold at the very same event in 2010 in Vancouver and won bronze in the super-G at the same event.
She has a total of 84 World Cup wins and eight World Championship medals - including two golds.
Chemmy Alcott, a four-time Olympian with Team GB, was stunned by the "brutal" action she saw.
"What we saw [is] that the top of the piste is really hard for a fit athlete," she said on the BBC's coverage.
"It is brutal, think about her family, her team and herself.
"We have to be realistic - the risk was really high, the risk she takes when she falls will double that. Her body will not be able to take that."