Vonn was airlifted off the course on Sunday after another crash in a downhill race. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Lindsey Vonn crashed badly in the Olympic downhill race on Sunday and was taken off the course via helicopter. Her injury comes just days after another wreck during a World Cup race that saw her airlifted to a nearby hospital with a ruptured ACL in her left knee.
According to ESPN, Vonn was transported to a clinic in Cortina then to a larger hospital in Treviso, two hours south. Her care was in the hands of “a multidisciplinary team” and “she underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg,” according to a statement from the Ca’ Foncello Hospital.
Vonn toughed it out for chance at gold in Milano Cortina, despite the unfortunate crash in the World Cup race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland the week before.
Unfortunately, the most recent injury is the end of her 2026 Olympic run. The 41-year-old lost control 13 seconds into her race, hooking the fourth gate with her right arm and spinning out of control in the air. She landed sideways, bounced and spun again, landing on her head and sliding down the hill. When she finally came to a halt, her agonized wails echoed through the crowd. The spectators were silent as the medics worked on her for almost 15 minutes before she was loaded onto a gurney and into the helicopter to be flown off the mountain.
“I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through,” said Breezy Johnson, Vonn’s teammate. “And it’s not the physical pain. We can deal with physical pain, but the emotional pain is something else. I wish her the best and I hope that this isn’t the end.”
Lindsey Vonn should NOT have been allowed to compete just a few days after tearing her ACL… Went from 1 torn ACL to at least 2 absolutely obliterated knees. Shame on her team for letting this happen.#WinterOlympics #LindseyVonn pic.twitter.com/8WZU1V9PQU
— Bumblebee (@Bumblebee_hq) February 8, 2026
Vonn’s journey to the Games this year was a story unto itself. She returned last season after a six-year hiatus. But making icy gates have certainly taken a toll on her body — her right knee is partially rebuilt with titanium (to go along with the recent injury to her left knee).
Miraculously, at 41, she led the World Cup in points heading into the Olympics, and was fighting for another gold medal. Vonn has won World Cups in downhill, super-G, giant slalom, and slalom, and has three Olympic medals (a gold and two bronze) on her mantel, as well as four overall World Cup titles. A gold at these Games would have capped an incredible comeback story, but the crash in January put all of it in doubt.
It was a scary end to Vonn’s incredible run to the Olympics.
