Lindsey Vonn has kept fans updated throughout the beginning of the decorated American skier’s long recovery from the serious leg injury she suffered during her heartbreaking crash early in the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Her latest update revealed a scan of her surgically repaired leg, as well as a punchy one-liner.
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“I’m bionic for real now,” Vonn wrote Friday on X.
The 41-year-old fractured her left leg just 13 seconds into her downhill race on Feb. 8. She clipped one of the course’s gates with her right shoulder and went spinning over a jump. Her fall was equal parts stunning and devastating.
She was attempting a comeback that was remarkable on both a macro and micro level. After retiring in 2019 and spending nearly six years away from racing, Vonn returned to make a push for one final Olympics. And then, nine days before the downhill final, she tore the ACL in her left knee during a World Cup race in Switzerland.
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Her perseverance through that knee injury, one of the most infamous kinds in sports, was admirable. It also made her crash on the 2,572-meter Olympia Delle Tofane course all the more painful to watch.
Vonn had to be airlifted. After that, she began a series of surgeries in Italy before eventually making her return to the United States.
A four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist, Vonn’s skiing has been a source of motivation for years.
She’s inspired plenty away from the slopes, too.
That’s continued to the be the case in her latest recovery, regardless of how difficult it’s been for her to process. She even had to say goodbye to her beloved dog Leo, who died a day after her Olympic crash.
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She announced Tuesday that she had arrived back in the U.S., but, at that time, she still wasn’t able to stand.
On Friday morning, she said her last surgery went well.
“It took a little over six hours,” Vonn wrote on X. “I have been recovering from the surgery, but pain has been hard to manage. Making slow progress, but I hope I can be out of the hospital soon. Thank you all for the support.”
Less than 2 1/2 hours later, she posted the scan of her left leg.
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