Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn’s long-awaited return may be over before it even begins.
The 41-year-old skiing legend crashed during the final downhill race of the World Cup in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday, just one week before the Feb. 6 start of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Vonn lost control on the landing of a jump, got tangled in a safety net and received medical attention for five minutes before carefully skating to the finish line, clearly straining her left knee.
The race was canceled due to poor visibility following Vonn’s accident. She was airlifted by helicopter for further medical tests, leaving her participation in the Olympics uncertain.
“I know she hurt her knee. I talked to her,” Urs Lehmann, CEO of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, told ESPN. “I don’t know if it’s really that heavy and if she won’t miss the Olympics.”
Vonn’s return from retirement has been one of the most important storylines for the U.S. Olympic team in the lead-up to the Olympics. She will headline the U.S. Alpine Ski Team alongside fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin. Vonn’s potential absence could also have a major impact on Olympic coverage by network broadcasters, who have heavily featured her comeback story in their promotional coverage.
The skiing legend retired in 2019 due to a lingering knee injury, but announced he would return in 2024 after undergoing partial knee replacement surgery to extend his career. She ranks second in World Cup history with 84 wins, only behind fellow American Shiffrin’s 108 wins.
“This is a very difficult result one week before the Olympics…but if there’s one way I can do it, it’s a comeback,” she wrote on Instagram.
Vonn won Olympic gold in downhill and bronze in super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and also won bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She also won four overall World Cup titles and eight World Championship medals during her illustrious career.
Milan-Cortina 2026 will run until February 22nd.
