Lindsey Vonn Undergoes Surgery After Downhill Crash at Winter Olympics
DOBBIACO, Italy - Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic comeback took a devastating turn on Sunday when the 41-year-old ski legend crashed just seconds into her downhill run in Cortina. The fall left her with a fractured left leg, and she has since undergone surgery to stabilize the injury, according to multiple reports.
The procedure took place at Ca’ Foncello hospital in Treviso, roughly 90 miles south of the Cortina slopes. While the hospital has not directly confirmed the operation, several outlets have cited official statements, and regional governor Luca Zaia also acknowledged the surgery.
U.S. Ski & Snowboard confirmed earlier Sunday that Vonn was injured but in stable condition, noting she was receiving care from both American and Italian medical teams.
The crash was as sudden as it was heartbreaking. Just 13 seconds into her run, Vonn lost control coming off a jump, her right shoulder clipping a gate as she launched sideways into the air.
With no chance to recover, she hit the snow hard and remained down for several minutes before being airlifted off the mountain. The crowd, hopeful for another chapter in her storied Olympic legacy, watched in stunned silence.
What makes this moment even more gut-wrenching is the context. Vonn was already racing through pain - just five days earlier, she revealed she had torn the ACL in her left knee during a World Cup race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Most athletes would’ve shut it down right there. Vonn?
She doubled down on her Olympic dream.
Her return to competition in 2024, after five years in retirement, was already one of the sport’s most compelling stories. After undergoing a right knee replacement - a knee that had endured more than its share of trauma over the years - she came back pain-free and with a renewed sense of purpose.
The first season was a mixed bag, but this year, she found her groove again. Two World Cup downhill wins and a string of top-four finishes in both downhill and super-G had her back among the elite speed skiers in the world.
It wasn’t just a feel-good story - Vonn was legitimately in medal contention in three Olympic events: the downhill, the super-G, and the team combined, which matches a speed specialist with a slalom skier. Her form, her experience, and her love for the Olympia delle Tofane slope - where she holds a record 12 World Cup wins - made her a real threat.
And she knew it. Speaking earlier in the week, Vonn made it clear she wasn’t going to let injury or age dictate the terms of her final run.
“I’m still here,” she said. “I think I’m able to fight.
I think I’m still able to try, and I will try as long as I have the ability to. I will not go home regretting not trying.”
That mindset - gritty, fearless, and unrelenting - is what’s defined Vonn’s entire career. She’s never been one to back down from a challenge, no matter how steep the slope or how battered the body.
But this latest setback likely marks the end of her Olympic journey. In a December interview, she acknowledged that this would be her final season. If that holds true, Sunday’s crash may have closed the book on one of the most remarkable careers in skiing history - a career built not just on speed and medals, but on resilience, comebacks, and a relentless drive to compete.
For now, the focus shifts to her recovery. And knowing Lindsey Vonn, she’ll tackle that with the same intensity she’s brought to every mountain she’s ever faced.