U.S. ski star Lindsey Vonn’s hopes of an Olympic comeback ended in brutal fashion Sunday when she crashed out of the women’s downhill event after seeking to compete in Italy with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
As AFP reports, Vonn was barely 13 seconds into her run in bright sunshine in Cortina d’Ampezzo when she lost control, twisted in the air and smashed into the snow.
The 41-year-old’s cries of pain were relayed to the waiting crowds as medical staff attended to the stricken skier on the piste while Vonn’s watching sister was ashen-faced.
Vonn was eventually strapped into a stretcher and winched into the air by helicopter to be flown for hospital medical treatment.
Lindsey Vonn of Team United States crashes during the Women’s Downhill on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on February 08, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Screengrab by IOC via Getty Images)
The fact she was even there is a miracle in itself.
Vonn suffered a brutal wipeout during her final Alpine Skiing World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, nine days ago and was immediately hospitalized after the crash.
She ended up being told she suffered a “completely ruptured” ACL in her left knee.
Despite the terrible injury, Vonn insisted she would still compete at the Olympics, as Breitbart News reported.
Rescue personnel is lowered from a helicopter to airlift United States’ Lindsey Vonn after her crash during an alpine ski women’s downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A rescue helicopter is seen flying to Lindsey Vonn of Team United States after she crashed during the Women’s Downhill on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on February 08, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty)
“I will still need to do one training run, as is required to race on Sunday, but… I am confident in my body’s ability to perform. Despite my injuries, my knee is stable, I do not have swelling, and my muscles are firing and reacting as they should,” she wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.
Now that has all come to nought for her personally, although the U.S. still had something to cheer in the classic event.
Breezy Johnson won gold in the same event for her first Olympic medal.
The Jackson Hole, Wyoming, native was 0.04 seconds clear of Emma Aicher of Germany. Sofia Goggia of Italy took the bronze.
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