Vonn was one of three skiers who crashed during Sunday’s alpine skiing women’s downhill event.
Lindsey Vonn braved a torn ACL to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano–Cortino, but a crash on Sunday ended the downhill skier’s dream of adding another gold to her medal collection.
Vonn had to be airlifted from Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, after clipping a gate with her right shoulder and tumbling down the slope early in her run during the alpine skiing women’s downhill event, according to ESPN.
After Vonn came to a stop, medical personnel spent minutes tending to her where she lay before strapping her to a gurney and sending her off via helicopter as the crowd cheered in support, per the Associated Press.
Prayers up for Lindsey Vonn
The 41-year-old encountered a scary crash just 13 seconds into her downhill routine.
Ten minutes later, a helicopter came to airlift her off the side of the mountain, after the terrifying tumble. #WinterOlympics#LindseyVonnpic.twitter.com/Qow7yquGXB
— EssentiallySports (@ES_sportsnews) February 8, 2026
Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Andorra’s Cande Moreno also crashed during the event. Ortlieb was able to walk off the course, while Moreno was airlifted off the slope.
Ultimately, American skier Breezy Johnson won gold in the event, scoring her first-ever Olympic medal and Team USA’s first gold of these games. Johnson missed the podium at the 2018 Olympics and suffering an injury in Cortina ahead of the 2022 Olympics.
“I don’t claim to know what she’s going through, but I do know what it is to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you and to watch those dreams die,” Johnson said of Vonn. “I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through, and it’s not the physical pain — we can deal with physical pain — but the emotional pain is something else.”
Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard, told ESPN Vonn “will be OK.”
Patty added, “This sport’s brutal and people need to remember when they’re watching [that] these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”
Alan Kildow, Vonn’s father, said her surgeons and doctors were in Cortina and evaluating the skier. “We’re happy everyone’s cheering for her and appreciate all the support.”
And Karin Kildow, Vonn’s sister, told NBC that the Olympic athlete “put it all out there” on Sunday. “She always goes 110 percent — there’s never anything less — so I know she put her whole heart into it. Sometimes things happen. It’s a very dangerous sport.”
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Category: General Sports
