Lindsey Vonn underwent another operation — her fifth — since suffering a complex left tibia fracture nearly two weeks ago in the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The first four surgeries were performed in an Italian hospital after she was airlifted off the ski slope. Early this week, she returned to the United States — boarding the airplane on a gurney — and was taken immediately to an undisclosed hospital upon arrival.
She gave an update and shared photos Friday morning on an Instagram post. She included an X-ray of her leg and the hardware inside of it.
“Made it through surgery… it took a bit more than 6 hours to complete. As you can see, it required a lot of plates and screws to put back together,” she wrote, also praising her surgeons.
“With the extent of the trauma, I’ve been struggling a bit post op and have not yet been able to be discharged from the hospital just yet… almost there. Baby steps.
“Will explain the injury and what it all means soon.”
On Feb. 8, Vonn crashed 13 seconds into the race. At 41, and out of retirement with a partially rebuilt right knee, Vonn was considered a medal contender at the Olympics before her final World Cup race a week before. In that downhill, she tore her left ACL, though she said she still could ski in the Games.
Vonn was in search of her second gold medal in the downhill, having won in 2010 in Vancouver. She also has two bronze medals.
In her career, Vonn has 84 World Cup victories, second for a female skier. She trails only Olympic teammate Mikaela Shiffrin. Two of those wins came this season.
–Field Level Media
