Lindsey Vonn’s determined attempt to win the Winter Olympic downhill at age 41 — competing on a rebuilt right knee and a severely injured left knee — ended Sunday in a terrifying crash that left her with a broken leg. A rescue helicopter airlifted her to safety for the second time in nine days.
Moments after leaving the start house, Vonn lost control, clipped a gate with her right shoulder, and tumbled down the slope before landing awkwardly on her back with her skis crossed beneath her. Her screams echoed across the course as medical personnel rushed to her side. Officials treated her for several tense minutes while silence fell over the crowd gathered at the finish line below.
Rescuers secured her to a gurney and flew her away, a development that could mark the end of her legendary career. She was first taken to a clinic in Cortina and later transferred to a larger hospital in Treviso, about two hours south.
Ca’ Foncello hospital said in a statement that Vonn was “treated by a multidisciplinary team” and “underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg.” The U.S. Ski Team confirmed she 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 Olympic downhill gold, following Vonn’s victory 16 years ago. The 30-year-old Johnson edged out Germany’s Emma Aicher and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on an emotional 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,” Johnson said. Her own injury in Cortina in 2022 dashed her hopes of competing 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’s family watched from the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who looked down at the ground as medical teams treated his daughter just 13 seconds into her run on the course where she holds a record 12 World Cup victories. Others, including rapper Snoop Dogg, stood quietly as rescuers carried her off. Fellow American star Mikaela Shiffrin shared 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 attention had focused on Vonn heading into the Olympics, where she returned as one of the most inspiring stories of the Games. Last season, she made a remarkable comeback to elite ski racing after nearly six years away. Despite her age and a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee, she chased another Olympic gold to add to the downhill title she won at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The four-time overall World Cup champion quickly proved she could still contend. She arrived at the Olympics leading the World Cup downhill standings and was considered a gold-medal favorite before crashing in Switzerland nine days earlier, when she suffered another knee injury that included a ruptured ACL, a bone bruise, and meniscus damage.
Even then, few doubted her resolve. For three decades, Vonn has raced through injuries at the highest level. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, she endured a serious training fall and went to the hospital — only to compete less than 48 hours later in all four planned events, finishing as high as seventh in the super-G.
“It’s definitely weird,” she said at the time, “going from the hospital bed to the start gate.”
Cortina has long been a special place for Vonn, filled with some of her most treasured memories beyond her record victories. Known as the queen of Cortina, she thrived on the Olympia delle Tofana course. Over the past three days, she tested her injured knee during downhill training runs before Sunday’s devastating crash under clear, sunny skies.
“This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”
After the crash, officials held the medal ceremony as fellow competitors reflected on her legacy.
“She has been my idol since I started watching ski racing,” said Norway’s Kajsa Vickhoff Lie. “We still have a World Cup to do after Olympics … I wouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly shows up on the start gate, but the crash didn’t look good.”