CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn went over the edge. Really, beyond it. Because of course she is.
For perhaps the most intense skier of all time, there is only one speed at which to grab a ski and point it down the hill: as fast as possible, for as long as possible, and for as long as possible.
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There have been many days in Vaughn’s nearly 25 years in the spotlight when that perseverance has led to glory.
Other times, like a sunny Sunday at a place that has long been considered a second home and at an event that has long served as her personal stage, it ended painfully.
Three gates into the women’s downhill event at the Cortina Olympics, the 41-year-old American and her surgically repaired and titanium-reinforced right knee and left knee awaiting surgical repair are already at full capacity.
If anything, Vaughn is almost too perfect. Searching for every inch, every millisecond of advantage, she clamped the fourth door between her right arms. Her skis slipped out from under her. In the blink of an eye, her seemingly impossible, thrilling return to the sport that had fascinated her was over. At least that’s the case for now.
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All that remained for the most decorated downhill racer, male or female, was tears, uncertainty and a helicopter lift to safety, a ride that included a swerve over the finish bleachers to a roar of applause from the crowd who had come to see history, neither side wanting to see it as a farewell.
“A tragedy,” International Ski and Snowboard Federation president John Eliash said later. “But this is ski racing, right?”
This is. Perhaps no one is more familiar with the line between triumph and disaster than Vaughn. It’s no coincidence that her memoir is called “Rise Up, My Story.”
What has long separated Vonn from her peers is a resilience that borders on sheer defiance, and it’s not like she has many left, or even that many women on Team USA, who were once little girls who grew up idolizing her.
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The history of falling and rising again
That’s been the case almost from the beginning. At just 22 years old, her World Cup season ended prematurely due to a knee sprain. She became the first American woman to win an Olympic downhill event, finishing on the podium in Vancouver despite microfractures in her arm and an injured pinky finger.
The list goes on and on. He had suffered a concussion and his right knee just couldn’t seem to stay healthy. In 2013, she tore her ACL twice. In 2016, she suffered a tibial plateau fracture just below her kneecap. In 2018, she sprained her left knee and damaged her nerves, which she couldn’t handle.
The next year, she retired, saying her body was screaming at her to “Stop,” a point she emphasized in all caps on an Instagram post announcing her decision.
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But that’s the thing about Vaughn. Stopping is never an option. She’s gone for a while, the excitement for the game dimming a little, but far from dead.
Her decision to have knee replacement surgery in April 2024 was motivated by a need to help her live a pain-free life. This also creates an unexpected and unprecedented opportunity.
Some people laughed. Most people who knew her didn’t. They weren’t surprised when she returned to competition at age 40. They know it’s not just about her body not allowing her to enjoy a win in 2019, but about getting in the starting gate and pushing herself and her sport forward.
Task rejected
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In the 14 months before arriving in Cortina, all she had done was polish a legacy that needed little polishing. In December, she became the oldest person ever to win a World Cup race. Two weeks later she did it again. Her presence, combined with her talent, has made the women’s downhill race in Cortina one of the most anticipated events at the Olympics.
That was before she tore the ACL in her left knee in late January, less than ten days ago. Outsiders thought the matter was over. She insisted that wasn’t the case and then put in a solid series of workouts late last week that looked all set to threaten the gold medal she won in Vancouver 16 years ago.
Vaughn’s choice upset some. But she insists it’s not out of vanity but for a higher purpose: to inspire others not to be bogged down by anyone’s expectations but their own. This set the stage for what she calls her “most dramatic” comeback.
While the final chapter was an unqualified success, no matter what happened next, it wasn’t going to be this storybook ending to the Olympics.
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The icon on the No. 13 bib lasted for a full 13 seconds. The crowd was silent as they reached the finish line. From the top of the mountain, U.S. teammates Isabella Wright and Jacqueline Wiles watched in shock as the scene unfolded below, a scene familiar to anyone who chooses to do this for a living.
“She deserved better than this,” Wright said.
Maybe she’ll get one. Initial reports from Team USA are cautiously optimistic about Vaughn’s condition. When, however, no one can say.
Whether Vaughn’s stiff left knee contributed to the accident is anyone’s guess. Does anyone besides Vaughn and her medical team need to have a say in whether she should get out, at least not to those who have spent decades hunting her down.
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“It was her choice,” said veteran Italian skier Federica Brignone. “If it’s your body, then you get to decide what to do, whether to compete or not. It’s not up to anyone else. It’s just you.”
So, if it really is Sunday, maybe it’s appropriate in a way. Vaughan wanted out on her terms. Maybe to some extent she did, at least in these Olympics.
a story of transcendence
Vaughn’s story is the rare one that cuts through the noise in sports and society that often drowns out what’s happening on the field. For Vaughn, there is no agenda other than pushing himself at an age when he should have stopped long ago.
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That’s why the immediate aftermath was so widespread. Everyone from teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, tennis legend Rafael Nadal, Basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton showed their support. All of them were moved in some way by one woman’s eternal quest to discover her own limits and transcend them.
Whatever explanation Vonn and her coaches might have for why she let Cortina hang from a helicopter instead of having a gold medal around her neck, one reason they can rule out is that it wasn’t because she was afraid to try.
Vaughan tried. Vaughn is always trying. Even when things look bleak. Maybe especially when things look bleak.
Their mood was bleak on Sunday. The tears shed by Vaughn and those closest to her were real.
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“I mean the work we put in, the careers we put in, I think obviously my heart aches for her,” said gold medalist and U.S. teammate Breeze Johnson. “It’s a tough road. It’s a tough sport. That’s the beauty and craziness of it, it can hurt you badly, but you keep coming back for more.”
If this is indeed Vonn’s final stop on the Olympic stage, maybe the photo you want to take isn’t of the crash, but of her approaching that fateful door: full throttle, no brakes.
Perhaps most importantly, have no regrets.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
