Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable comeback after nearly six years away from ski racing won’t be derailed by a sustained fall in Switzerland last week. Vonn announced Tuesday morning that she ruptured her ACL but will continue skiing after some pre-Olympics practice.
“Any chance I get,” Vaughn said, “I’m going to try.”
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The 41-year-old American announced on Tuesday that she would compete in the Winter Olympics despite injuring her left knee in an untimely car accident a week before the opening ceremony in Cortina, Milan.
Vonn lost his balance while jumping during the upper stages of Friday’s World Cup downhill race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. She was unable to recover and fell at high speed, skidding on the snow and crashing into the orange safety netting on the side of the court.
While Vonn was able to stand and slowly and carefully walked her the rest of the way, she stopped several times to grab her left knee and seemed to avoid putting any weight on it. Vonn was airlifted from the competition area as a precaution and is “under evaluation,” according to a statement from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association on Friday morning.
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Later on Friday, Vonn took to Instagram to express her optimism that her “Olympic dream is not over yet.” She wrote that she was “discussing the situation” with her doctor and “will continue to undergo further testing.”
“It’s a very difficult result a week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s come back,” Vonn added.
Now, she will try to recover from another injury, this time just days before the Olympics.
Vonn was not the only skier to crash in Crans-Montana in poor conditions and poor visibility. Of the five skiers who started before Vonn, Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Norway’s Matt Monson also failed to finish, prompting organizers to cancel the remainder of the race.
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“The main reason is athlete safety,” explained Women’s World Cup tournament director Peter Gedol. “Visibility was getting worse and they couldn’t see the race line, which led to mistakes. We saw six athletes start and all six made some mistakes. That shows it’s a high-risk situation.”
With a comeback story that defies all reasonable expectations, Vonn is expected to be one of the faces of the Cortina Games in Milan.
The four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist retired in 2019 as multiple injuries took an unbearable toll on her body. When she underwent surgery on her right knee in April 2024, her goal was nothing more than to be able to live a normal, pain-free life.
After partial knee replacement surgery, Vonn was feeling so much better that she made a shocking announcement in November 2024 that she would not retire. She has dominated downhill racing this season and has finished on the podium in two of her first three super-G races, giving her added hope of competing for medals in both disciplines in Cortina.
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The women’s downhill race is scheduled for February 8, with the women’s super-G taking place four days later.
Vonn could have skipped the notoriously dangerous Crans-Montana downhill race, but she chose to compete in the hope of amassing more World Cup points. She entered the race leading the downhill standings and finishing sixth overall.
With the Olympics just days away, Vonn wasn’t playing it safe in the harsh conditions and went all out. She roared out of the start house and recorded the fastest time through the first checkpoint.
For better or for worse, Vaughn always gives it his all.
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That’s what makes her remarkable comeback such an achievement. The question now is whether her injured left hand will allow her to compete at her best.
