Lindsey Vonn’s extraordinary comeback after nearly six years away from ski racing will not be derailed by a fall suffered last week in Switzerland. Vonn announced Tuesday that she had ruptured her left ACL, but after some pre-Olympics practice runs, she will continue to ski at Cortina d’Ampezzo in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“This is not, obviously, what I had hoped for,” Vonn said in a news conference Tuesday. “I’ve been working really hard to come into these Games in a much different position. I know what my chances were before the crash, and I know my chances aren’t the same as it stands today, but I know there’s still a chance, and as long as there’s a chance, I will try.”
Advertisement
The 41-year-old American also announced that she suffered bone bruising and meniscal damage in the fall that occurred one week before the Opening Ceremony of these Games.
“Considering how my knee feels,” Vonn said, “I feel stable, I feel strong, my knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday.”
Sunday would be the women’s downhill, an event Vonn won at the 2010 Olympics.
Vonn got off-balance coming out of a jump in the upper section of the World Cup downhill race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 30. She was unable to recover and fell at high speed, skidding across the snow before careening into the orange safety netting on the side of the course.
While Vonn was able to get to her feet, and slowly and gingerly make her down the rest of the course, she stopped several times to grasp at her left knee and appeared to avoid putting any weight on it. Vonn was airlifted from the race area as a precaution.
Advertisement
Later on Jan. 30, Vonn expressed optimism via Instagram that her “Olympic dream is not over.” She wrote that she was “discussing the situation” with doctors and “will continue to undergo further exams.”
“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics … but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” Vonn added.
Now, she’ll attempt to come back from yet another injury, this time just days before the Olympics are set to begin.
Vonn wasn’t the only skier to crash amid adverse conditions and poor visibility in Crans-Montana. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Norway’s Marte Monsen, two of the five skiers who started before Vonn, also failed to complete their runs, prompting organizers to cancel the rest of the competition.
Advertisement
“The main reason is the safety of the athletes,” Women’s World Cup race director Peter Gerdol explained. “The visibility was getting worse and worse, they couldn’t see the race line properly and it caused mistakes. We saw six athletes starting and all six had some mistakes. This was a sign that it was a high-risk situation.”
Vonn was poised to be one of the faces of the Milan Cortina Games thanks to a comeback story that defied all reasonable expectations. Now that story will only gain momentum if she makes it to the starting gate.
The four-time overall World Cup champion and 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist retired in 2019 because the physical toll of her many injuries had become too much to bear. When she underwent right knee surgery in April 2024, her goal was nothing more than to be able to live a normal, pain-free life.
Vonn felt so much better after her partial knee replacement surgery that she made a stunning announcement in November 2024 that she was un-retiring. She has been dominant in downhill races this World Cup season and finished on the podium in two of her first three super-G races, raising hopes that she can contend for medals in both disciplines in Cortina.
Advertisement
The women’s downhill competition is scheduled for Feb. 8 and the women’s super-G will take place four days later. Vonn said her plan is still to compete in both.
Vonn could have skipped the notoriously treacherous Crans-Montana downhill, but she chose to race in hopes of accumulating more World Cup points. She entered the race leading the downhill standings and sixth in the overall competition.
Rather than playing it safe in poor conditions with the Olympics just days away, Vonn went all-out. She roared out of the start house and registered the fastest time through the first checkpoint.
For better or worse, Vonn was always going to go for it.
Advertisement
“Unfortunately, in my career, I’ve had a lot of challenges,” Vonn said. “I’ve always pushed the limits, and in downhill, it’s a very dangerous sport, and anything can happen. Because I’ve pushed the limits, I crash, and I’ve been injured more times than I would like to … As many times as I crash, I’ve always gotten back up, as many times as I’ve failed, I’ve always won.”
That’s how her remarkable comeback made it this far. The question now is, will the injured left allow her to compete at her best.
“I’m not letting this slip through my fingers,” Vonn said. “I’m going to do it. End of story.”
