Madison Burgess
An update has been issued on American skier Lindsey Vonn following her crash in the women's downhill competition at the Winter Olympics over the weekend.
The 41-year-old sports star crashed out of the race on Sunday (8 February) just 13 seconds in after clipping a gate just seconds into her run, somersaulting off the course and remaining on the ground for some time.
Worried onlookers watched on as she was airlifted from Cortina to a hospital in Treviso, and now it's been revealed that she has undergone surgery on her broken left leg.
In an update on X, the US Ski and Snowboard Team said: “Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians."
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Meanwhile, in a statement, quoted on olympics.com on Sunday evening, Ca’ Foncello Hospital confirmed the 41-year-old 'underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilise a fracture in her left leg'.
As reported by Sky News, medics will now be assessing the long-term damage caused following surgery on the break.
The injury comes after the American had damaged her ACL when falling in a World Cup race at Crans-Montana just over a week ago, but still opted to take part in Sunday’s Olympics event at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre.
As reported by the publication, determined, she said after she arrived in Italy: "As long as there's a chance, I will try."
Vonn’s teammate and reigning world champion Breezy Johnson took the title and became the first American woman to win the event since Vonn’s triumph in Vancouver in 2010.
Johnson said: "The work that we put in, the careers, my heart aches for her. It’s a tough road, and it’s a tough sport. That’s the beauty and the madness of it, that it can hurt you so badly, but you keep coming back for more."
She added: "I don’t have anything except that her coach said she was cheering for me in the helicopter. I hope for the best for her. I hope that it’s not too bad. My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes."
Vonn initially retired from skiing in 2019 due to injury, but after undergoing a partial knee replacement in April 2024, she returned to competition in December that year and had won two World Cup events this season before her fall in Switzerland.
The sports star had successfully completed two practice runs on the course on Friday and Saturday, wearing a brace on her injured knee, and her coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, felt she was in 'good enough' condition to challenge for a medal.
Another of Vonn's teammates, Jacqueline Wiles, who placed fourth, said: "Watching Lindsey go down from the start was pretty awful.
"We have such a sisterhood. We travel with each other on the road. We’re a family. To watch someone that you care about so much, it sucks. My heart broke for her in that moment, but that is the inherent risk of the sport."
While another member of the US team, Isabella Wright, added: "You don’t want that for anyone, and you especially don’t want it for your teammate and for Lindsey.
"I always say this, ‘if anyone can do it, it’s Lindsey’. Whatever it is, or whatever the situation, she’s very strong. We’re going to support her the best we can."