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02/08 18:55 CST Lindsey Vonn breaks leg in downhill crash at Winter Olympics,
in stable condition at hospital
Lindsey Vonn breaks leg in downhill crash at Winter Olympics, in stable
condition at hospital
By ANDREW DAMPF and PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writers
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Lindsey Vonn's defiant bid to win the Winter
Olympic downhill at the age of 41, on a rebuilt right knee and a badly injured
left knee, ended Sunday in a frightening crash that left her with a broken leg
and saw her taken to safety by a rescue helicopter for the second time in nine
days.
Vonn lost control within moments of leaving the start house, clipping a gate
with her right shoulder and pinwheeling down the slope before ending up
awkwardly on her back, her skis crisscrossed below her and her screams ringing
out soon after medical personnel arrived. She was treated for long, anguished
minutes as a hush fell over the crowd waiting far below at the finish line.
She was strapped to a gurney and flown away, possibly ending the skier's
storied career. She was taken to a clinic in Cortina, then transferred to a
larger hospital in Treviso, a two-hour drive to the south.
She was being "treated by a multidisciplinary team" and "underwent an
orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg," the Ca'
Foncello hospital said in a statement. The U.S. Ski Team said Vonn was "in
stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian
physicians."
"She'll be OK, but it's going to be a bit of a process," said Anouk Patty,
chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard. "This sport's brutal and people need
to remember when they're watching (that) these athletes are throwing themselves
down a mountain and going really, really fast."
Breezy Johnson, Vonn's teammate, became only the second American woman to win
the Olympic downhill after Vonn did it 16 years ago. The 30-year-old Johnson
held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy's Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day
for the team.
"I don't claim to know what she's going through, but I do know what it is to be
here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you and to
watch those dreams die," said Johnson, whose injury in Cortina in 2022 ruined
her hopes of skiing in the Beijing Olympics. "I can't imagine the pain that
she's going through and it's not the physical pain --- we can deal with
physical pain --- but the emotional pain is something else."
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared
down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds
on the course where she holds a record 12 World Cup titles. Others in the
crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was
finally taken off the course. Fellow American star Mikaela Shiffrin posted a
broken heart emoji on social media.
Vonn's crash was "tragic, but it's ski racing," said Johan Eliasch, president
of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
"I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport," he said,
"because this race has been the talk of the Games and it's put our sport in the
best possible light."
All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She
returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a remarkable
decision given her age but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement in
her right knee, too. Many wondered how she would fare as she sought a gold
medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender
almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup
downhill standings and was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in
Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In
addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
Still, no one counted her out even then. In truth, she has skied through
injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin
Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the
hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events
she'd planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.
Cortina has had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins. She is
called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course that had
always suited Vonn. She tested out the knee twice in downhill training runs
over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny
conditions.
"This would be the best comeback I've done so far," Vonn said before the race.
"Definitely the most dramatic."
The drama was of a different sort this time. Not since perhaps Hermann Maier's
cartwheeling crash at the 1998 Nagano Games had there been such a high-profile
and spectacular fall in Alpine skiing at the Olympics.
"Dear Lindsey, we're all thinking of you. You are an incredible inspiration,
and will always be an Olympic champion," International Olympic Committee
president Kirsty Coventry said.
News of the crash spread quickly, including to the fan zone down the mountain
in Cortina.
"It's such a huge loss and bummer," American Megan Gunyou said. "I feel like
hearing her story and just like the redemption of her first fall and like
fighting to come back to the Olympics this year, I mean, I feel so sad for her."
Dan Wilton of Vancouver, Canada, watched the race from the stands.
"It was frightening," he said. "Really, your heart goes out for such a champion
who is coming to the end of her career. Everyone wanted a successful finish."
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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