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Lindsey Vonn sustained another injury after she crashed during her Sunday, February 8, ski run at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
An Italian hospital said Vonn “underwent an orthopedic operation to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg” on Sunday and that she was being “treated by a multidisciplinary team.”
“She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s chief of sport Anouk Patty said on Sunday. “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.”
Earlier in the day, the Ski and Snowboard team said Vonn was “in stable condition.”
Vonn, 41, crashed 13 seconds into her women’s downhill run, where she was subsequently heard screaming in pain. The pro athlete was immediately airlifted off the course, similarly to what occurred after she crashed and tore her ACL nine days earlier at a World Cup Race in Switzerland.
The 2026 Olympics were meant to be Vonn’s big comeback to the sport. Despite retiring in 2019, Vonn decided to make a competitive return in 2024.
“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey, and one that some did not believe in from the start,” Vonn wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 7, ahead of her downhill run. “I retired for six years, and because of a partial knee replacement, I had the chance to compete one more time. But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple … I just love ski racing.”
She continued, “I am not unsure about life outside of sport. I am not searching for meaning or for attention or money. I know exactly who I am and I know exactly what I am made of. I am the product of amazing parents who showed me that hard work and determination pays off. My mother, who is watching over me, taught me the power of positivity and resilience. My father, who will be watching in the stands with my family and friends, taught me hard work and mental toughness.”
Lindsey Vonn crashes during the Women’s Downhill on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. IOC via Getty Images
Vonn further stressed that while she couldn’t “guarantee a good result,” she still planned to try her hardest.
“I can guarantee I will give it everything I have. But no matter what happens, I have already won,” she concluded her Instagram upload. “The outpouring of love and support over the past few days has been overwhelming in the best way. It has given me energy and helped me more than I can describe.”
Vonn still planned to compete after her ACL injury earlier this month, in which she tore the ligament completely in two.
Lindsey Vonn has the full support of her teammate Breezy Johnson at the 2026 Olympics, even as she powers through an ACL injury. “There will be six Americans running the Downhill training runs and if Lindsey cannot compete … or doesn’t feel competitive enough others can take her place,” Johnson, 30, wrote via Threads on […]
“After extensive consultations with doctors, intense therapy, physical tests as well as skiing today, I have determined I am capable of competing in the Olympic Downhill on Sunday,” Vonn said in a Monday, February 3, Instagram video. “Of course I will still need to do one training run, as is required to race on Sunday, but … I am confident in my body’s ability to perform. Despite my injuries my knee is stable, I do not have swelling and my muscles are firing and reacting as they should.”
Vonn further stated that she would continue “to evaluate with [her] medical team on a daily basis” for any medical changes before the race.
“I have every intention of competing on Sunday,” Vonn said at the time. “I know what my chances in these Olympics were before this crash, and even though my chances aren’t the same now, there is still a chance. And as long as I have a chance, I will not lose hope. I will not give up! It’s not over yet. Thank you to everyone who has reached out and supported me. I feel the love and it is giving me strength.”
