Lindsey Vonn's quest for Olympic glory with a ruptured cruciate ligament ended little over 10 seconds into her downhill run when she crashed after hooking a gate. Competing with bib 13 on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste where she has won 12 World Cup races, Vonn lost control after hooking the gate with her left arm, fell heavily and immediately held her damaged left knee and was heard screaming in pain after she came to a standstill.
Lindsey Vonn's quest for Olympic glory with a ruptured cruciate ligament ended little over 10 seconds into her downhill run when she crashed after hooking a gate.
Competing with bib 13 on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste where she has won 12 World Cup races, Vonn lost control after hooking the gate with her left arm, fell heavily and immediately held her damaged left knee and was heard screaming in pain after she came to a standstill.
She was taken away by helicopter after lengthy treatment on site. There was a stunned silence in the finish area where spectators included rapper and honorary US coach Snoop Dogg and Italian ski great Alberto Tomba who had lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday.
Vonn, 41, won downhill gold in 2010 and bronze in 2018, plus super-g bronze in 2010. She came out of retirement last season aiming for more Olympic glory and led this term's downhill standings with two victories before damaging her knee last week in a crash in Crans-Montana. She still decided to compete at the Olympics.
Team-mate Breezy Johnson, the reigning world champion, was leading the race at the time, four-hundredths ahead of German Emma Aicher.
Category: General Sports
