Lindsey Vonn crashed on Friday during the final downhill race before the Milan Cortina Olympics, injuring her left knee exactly one week before the opening of the Winter Games.
Vonn, 41, lost her balance coming off of a jump in a downhill World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, couldn’t recover and slid into the safety netting. She received medical attention for several minutes before using her poles to slowly ski toward the finish line, clutching her knee on a couple of occasions.
Vonn was airlifted via helicopter from the race area, with the U.S. Ski Team stating on social media that she was being “evaluated.”
The opening ceremony for the Olympics is one week away, with the women’s downhill event two days later. Her status is unclear.
Friday’s race was canceled shortly after Vonn — the sixth skier — safely got to the bottom of the hill. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Norway’s Marte Monsen also crashed on Friday.
Vonn earned one gold (downhill) and one bronze (Super-G) at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
She retired after the 2019 world championships due to injuries. She subsequently received a partial replacement of her right knee and launched a comeback late in 2024.
Vonn has won the downhill twice this winter and leads the World Cup standings in the discipline. She had been considered a favorite to win the gold medal in the downhill in Italy, and it was expected she also would compete in the super-G and team combined event.
–Field Level Media
