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Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital just a week before the Winter Olympics began after falling during her final downhill competition in Switzerland.
Vonn, 41, is “under evaluation” after a crash on a downhill slope in Crans-Montana, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team confirmed in an X post on Friday, January 30th. According to the Guardian, CBS News and USA Today, the ski star lost control after landing a jump and slid into a safety net.
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Vonn remained on the ground for some time and was treated by medical staff before sliding down to the bottom of the course.
Onlookers noticed that she appeared to be holding her left knee and stopped multiple times to check it out. According to the outlet, she was seen several times taking the weight off her knees and limping.
Once at the bottom of the course, he hugged fellow American skier Jacqueline Wiles before entering a medical tent for evaluation. She was then airlifted from the area by helicopter and transferred from the Swiss Alps, the Guardian reported.
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Autumn arrives just one week before the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games. The women’s downhill event, in which Vonn will compete, is scheduled for just two days after the ceremony.
Vonn has suffered multiple anterior cruciate ligament tears and countless injuries throughout his career, and underwent partial titanium knee replacement surgery in 2024. She believes this is one of the reasons she returned to competitive skiing after retiring in 2019.
“My body was completely different,” she tells PEOPLE. “I didn’t have any pain. My knee didn’t swell. I felt like I could do anything. I was really excited to be able to participate in the ski racing I loved again without pain.”
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Vonn is on track to make history as the oldest woman to compete in the alpine competition in the history of the Winter Olympics. She also said that returning to the sport would allow her to finish her career the way she wanted.
“I built a great life and was really happy in retirement,” she said of her primary focus on philanthropy. “But I didn’t end my career the way I wanted. I wanted to end strong, but I left limping away.”
