Lindsey Vonn: ‘My Olympic dream is not over’ after crash

Lindsey Vonn is not ruling out competing at the Milano Cortina Olympics after injuring her left knee in a crash exactly one week before the Winter Games begin.

Vonn was able to get to her feet and ski down the rest of the course. But her left knee was clearly in pain, and she shook her head several times when she saw U.S. teammate Jackie Wiles in the finish area. She was later airlifted out of the area, as is common at mountain venues, and taken to a hospital for test.

A few hours later, Vonn posted a statement on social media saying she was still talking with doctors.

‘My Olympic dream is not over,’ Vonn wrote.

What did Lindsey Vonn say after the crash?

In a statement on social media, Vonn said she was consulting with her doctors and will have further tests.

‘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 wrote.

‘My Olympic dream is not over. Thank you all (for) the love and support. I will give more information when I have it,’ she added.

She closed the post by saying, ‘It’s not over until it’s over,’ adding heart and bicep emojis.

What happened to Lindsey Vonn?

Vonn has been on the podium in every downhill race this season, winning two of them, and was leading again through the first section of the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday, Jan. 30. But she got off-balance coming out of a jump in the second section.

Vonn fought to stay upright, using her poles to try and steady herself, but fell while going at high speed. She spun across the snow before crashing into the safety netting on the side of the course.

Vonn gave a small wave to the fans when she reached the finish line, but shook her head several times when fellow American Jackie Wiles approached her. She put her head in Wiles’ shoulder as the two hugged before Vonn went into the tent in the finish area for medical attention.

Vonn was airlifted from the race area — common practice at mountain venues — and the U.S. Ski Team said on social media that Vonn was being ‘evaluated.’

‘She has some pain so it’s better to have some checks,’ Aksel Lund Svindal, the two-time Olympic champion who joined Vonn’s coaching team this season, told Reuters. ‘The physio did some checks (and) they seemed OK, but there were things he was not 100% sure so it was good to have it checked (at the hospital).’

Lindsey Vonn crash at Crans-Montana

Vonn had expressed concern about the race in Crans-Montana last fall, noting the history of poor weather and crashes there. She said then that she would consider skipping it if she didn’t need the points, but Vonn now leads the downhill standings and is sixth in the overall race.

‘I’m definitely going to be very strategic with how I approach the World Cups, especially with Crans-Montana,’ Vonn said at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic media summit in late October. ‘Historically there’s been difficulties with weather and snow condition and injuries specifically. So that will be probably the biggest concern I have is Crans-Montana.

‘So if I have to race in that race, I will, but I’ll be very strategic about how I approach that.’

The women’s Alpine races being in Cortina was a factor in Vonn’s decision to make a comeback after having a partial knee replacement in April 2024. Cortina is one of Vonn’s favorite places. She made her first World Cup podium there, in 2004, and 12 of her 84 World Cup wins came there.

But the crash raises doubts about Vonn’s ability to compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics. The opening ceremony is in one week, and the women’s downhill is two days later.

Visibility was poor in Crans-Montana, and two of the five skiers who started before Vonn did not finish the race. After Vonn crashed, she stayed on the hill for several minutes while safety crews rushed to her. She was able to get to her feet, but was clearly favoring her left knee, using her poles to steady herself. Vonn bent her left knee a few times, giving small shakes of her head.

Vonn put her skis back on and resumed skiing, doing a few easy turns, but it was clear her left knee was hurting. As her team and her U.S. teammates looked on with concern, she slowly made her way down the hill. She slip-slid down the steepest part of the slope, before gently skiing down the bottom section of the course.

The race was canceled shortly after Vonn got to the bottom of the hill.

Vonn’s comeback has been nothing short of amazing, with the 41-year-old poised to be one of the stars of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion retired in 2019 because of the physical toll of her many injuries. When she had a partial replacement of her right knee in April 2024, it was in the hope of being able to live a normal, pain-free life.

But she felt so good during her recovery that she decided to make a comeback, returning to the World Cup circuit in December 2024. Vonn had mixed results last season, though she ended it with a silver medal in the super-G at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.

With a full off-season to train and fine-tune her equipment, however, Vonn has been dominant. She’s won two downhill races, including the season opener, and been on the podium in every downhill race. She also has top-three finishes in two of the first three super-G races.