Lindsey Vonn / 2026 Olympic DH / GEPA pictures
Lindsey Vonn suffered a serious injury in a violent crash during Sunday’s Olympic downhill in Cortina, sustaining a fracture to her left leg and undergoing surgery later the same day.
According to a statement from Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso, Italy, the 41-year-old American was operated on after the crash and is currently being monitored in intensive care. Doctors said there was no danger to her life at any time.
Vonn crashed near the top of the course when she hooked her arm on a gate while airborne and was violently twisted to her right, landing with her skis nearly perpendicular to the fall line. She was evacuated by helicopter from the course.
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It is now known that Lindsey Vonn suffered a “complex tibia fracture” (broken shin bone) in her left leg following a crash during.
Before suffering a knee injury last week, Vonn had been the favorite for two Olympic gold medals in the downhill and the team combined, and was also widely viewed as a strong medal contender in the super-G.
The injury brings a heartbreaking end to a remarkable Olympic comeback for Vonn, who returned from retirement to pursue the sport she loves on one of the most successful courses of her career. She is a four-time overall World Cup champion, winner of 16 discipline globes, and a three-time Olympic medalist, including downhill gold in 2010, along with eight World Championship medals.
Vonn raced the Olympic downhill despite having suffered a torn ACL last week, underscoring her determination to compete in what she has repeatedly called her “beloved Olympics.”
Further updates on her condition are expected in the coming days.
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