Lindsey Vonn's buzzy comeback at this year's Olympic Games didn't go as planned. The Team USA alpine ski star endured a horrific crash that resulted in a broken leg less than 20 seconds into the women's downhill race on Sunday, February 8, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Vonn, 41, appeared to clip a gate with her pole shortly after the start of her run, spinning her off balance and into a fall. She hit the snow on her right shoulder and side before and tumbled down the course, visibly in distress, prompting an immediate reaction from horrified spectators and fellow racers. Some television spectators commented that they could hear her shrieks and cries picked up on the broadcast.
Fellow teammates also quickly showed their support on social media, including Team USA alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin.
A medical team was quick to tend to Vonn, taking about 10 minutes to get her into the emergency medical sled and airlift her via helicopter from the course before the women's downhill race resumed. Vonn was “treated by a multidisciplinary team” and “underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg,” according to a statement from the Ca’ Foncello hospital, as reported by the AP. The U.S. Ski Team also confirmed that she was in stable condition.
Vonn's sister Karin Kildow described the moment as "definitely the last thing we wanted to see," she told NBC. "When that happens, you're just immediately hoping she's okay, and it was scary ... she dared greatly, and she put it all out there."
Vonn's U.S. ski teammate Breezy Johnson went on to win the race and earn gold Sunday.
On Monday, Vonn posted on Instagram, her first since the crash, sharing that she sustained a "complex tibial fracture" that will "require multiple surgeries to fix properly." She also shared more about why the crash happened, noting that she was "simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate...My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever."
Vonn shared two days later that she'd successfully completed her third surgery related to the tibial fracture she suffered during Sunday's crash. She added: "Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok."
On Friday, Vonn shared another video updating her followers and thanking everyone for the supportive messages and gifts. "It has been quite a hard few days in the hospital here. I'm finally feeling more like myself. I have a long, long way to go," she said in the clip. "Tomorrow I'll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well, and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I will need another surgery. Still don't know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it's kind of where I am right now."
The crash marked the end of her run for another Olympic medal this year, where she had been one of the most talked-about athletes of the Games. Earlier in Milan, Vonn successfully finished her downhill training runs despite having a completely ruptured ACL, an injury she suffered during a World Cup race in Switzerland on January 30.
Vonn's fearless return to the Olympics has captivated fans—especially after deciding to still compete after her recent injury.
Vonn announced that she would be retiring in an essay in 2018 due to a series of injuries that left her in a place where her mind and body were no longer on the same page. Over the years, she faced multiple knee and ankle injuries and underwent knee replacement surgery on her right knee. But in 2024, the skier shocked fans by announcing that she would be rejoining the U.S. ski team after her surgery was successful.
Vonn is known for her resilience and grit and ultimately decided she was "not giving up" on her Olympic aspirations in Cortina. "Working as hard as I can to make it happen!" she shared on Instagram on February 7. She also successfully completed her training runs leading up to the main event.
Her mental coach Armando Gonzalez, LMFT, a.k.a. “Dr. Mondo,” considers Vonn's pain threshold to be unmatched. “She has this internal relationship with pain that’s more than most people I’ve met, including elite athletes,” he recently told Women's Health. “I would love to take credit for all the skills I infused in her, but in many ways Lindsey is one of one.”
Jacqueline Andriakos, CPT, is the executive health and fitness director at Women’s Health, where she oversees all health and fitness content across WomensHealthMag.com and the print magazine. She has more than a decade of experience covering the wellness space and has edited ASME-nominated health features, spearheaded brand packages such as Fitness Awards, and represented the brand on the TODAY show, podcasts, and more. Before Women's Health, Jacqueline was the deputy health features editor at Self.com, and previously worked as the senior editor at Health magazine. As a writer-reporter, she has contributed to print and online publications including TIME, Real Simple, and People, among others. A dancer throughout her youth, Jacqueline went on to study journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and stoked her passion for health and fitness during her college years, ultimately inspiring her to make women’s health content the focus of her media career. She is constantly researching the latest health and wellness trends, trying a buzzy new workout class, hiking and snowboarding, or browsing athleisure. Her friends would describe her as the confidant to turn to for fitness and wellness advice, not to mention answers to any weird body questions. Jacqueline is also a former group exercise instructor and is a certified personal trainer via the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
