American skier Lindsey Vonn “is in stable condition” after her crashing hard early in her women’s alpine downhill run at 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday (February 8), the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team confirmed in a post shared on its X account.
“Update: Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians,” the team said.
Vonn, 41, who competed despite tearing her ACL during a practice run nine days prior, got off balance in the air during her first jump with her entire weight shifting to the backs of her skis. The legendary skier tried to correct herself midair but couldn’t and crashed to the snow, where she remained prone as concerned spectators watched in shocked silence as she could be heard wailing in pain.
Vonn’s crash took place about 13 to 14 seconds into her run, remaining down for about 13 minutes before loaded into a helicopter and airlifted about 18 minutes after the crash occurred. The 41-year-old had a relatively clean run with a 1:40.33 time during her first training run Friday (February 6) since the ACL tear one week prior, wearing a brace on her left knee on the Olympia delle Tofane slope, which placed her 11th out of 43 finishers.
Vonn confirmed her decision to still compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics during a press conference on Tuesday (February 3).
“Normally in the past, there’s always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers,” Vonn said via USA TODAY. “I didn’t have that this time. I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it, end of story. So I’m not letting myself go down that path. I’m not crying. My head is high, I’m standing tall, and I’m gonna do my best, and whatever the result is, that’s what it is. But never say I didn’t try.”
Vonn reportedly lost control while landing a jump and got tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course during her final run before the 2026 Winter Olympics on January 30. The legendary skier received medical attention for about five minutes before getting up, appearing to experience pain as she used her poles to steady herself.
Vonn said she wasn’t in pain and her knee wasn’t swollen after skiing on Tuesday (February 2). The 41-year-old had previously had a partial titanium replacement inserted into her right knee in 2024, prior to returning to ski racing last year after a nearly six-year retirement after announcing her compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics two years prior.
Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, which included winning gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Games and bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, as well as being a four-time overall World Cup champion and eight-time world championships medalist. Vonn’s 82 World Cup race victories — with her career total now at 84 — stood as the most for any female skier until being eclipsed by fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin, 30, who is now at 108 career wins, the most of any Alpine skier in history.
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