Lindsey Vonn hit the slopes for a final training run ahead of Sunday’s Olympic race event after rupturing her left ACL when she crashed in a World Cup race in the Swiss Alps a week ago.
The 41-year-old Alpine ski great injured her knee when she crashed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, but has vowed to race Sunday’s downhill regardless.
On Friday, Vonn confirmed the severity of her injury.
In a social media response to a doctor’s post questioning her ability to compete, Vonn said: “lol thanks doc. My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”
Saturday’s run was the second official downhill training to take place ahead of Vonn’s first competitive Olympic event, the women’s downhill, which is scheduled for Sunday.
There were supposed to be three training events, but the first, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was canceled due to the weather. Vonn successfully participated in a training event on Friday, which was also subject to weather delays.
41-year-old Vonn completed Saturday’s run without any apparent issues.
Tiziana FABI /AFP via Getty Images
Fellow Olympic U.S. alpine skiers told CBS News on Thursday that they believed their teammate would be able to persevere despite her injury.
“If anyone can come back from this, if anyone could do it, it’s Lindsey,” Team USA skier Isabella Wright said during a U.S. athlete training ahead of the opening of the Games.
“If it’s your last Games, and you know, already probably have a lot of knee damage, then there’s not that much to lose,” Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson told CBS News.









