Iconic American skier Lindsey Vonn was airlifted off the Olimpia della Tofane course after crashing just under 15 seconds into her downhill run on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Olympics from Milan-Cortina in Italy.
The 41-year-old had suffered a torn ACL just eight days earlier when she crashed during her final race before the Games began, but still remarkably managed to give it a go on the largest stage in her sport. But she hooked the fourth gate and lost her balance, pushing her weight to the back of her skis while taking off from a small jump.
She fell awkwardly on her right leg and side before a violent tumble down the slope. She lay on her back screaming in pain before medics were able to get to her. In roughly 13 minutes, she was loaded onto a helicopter and airlifted to a local hospital.
In a statement, the US Ski & Snowboard team said Vonn “will be evaluated by medical staff.”
“My heart goes out to [Lindsey],” her Team USA teammate Breezy Johnson, who secured the gold medal in the downhill shortly after, said. “I hope it’s not as bad as it looked, and I know how difficult it is to ski this course. Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and it hurts you like that, it hurts that much more.”
Before Vonn’s crash on Jan. 30 during a World Cup event, she had still been one of the most dominant skiers in the sport. She had made the podium in all five downhill races this season and won two of them.
After it was discovered that her ACL was completely ruptured, she spent the next week undergoing intense rehab, which included weight lifting, plyometrics, and pool workouts. During her second training run in Cortina on Saturday, she still posted the third-fastest time.
She then took to social media to respond to what she described as an “odd opinion piece” by USA Today’s Greg Graber, who suggested that Vonn was one of many athletes competing “way past their primes.”
“I am no doctor, but it would seem that she is risking long-term physical repercussions by refusing to hang up her skis at this point,” he continued. “Vonn is smart, beautiful, and has a long life ahead of her once she retires from the slopes.”
Vonn clapped back: “The pain and suffering is the point? I’m searching for meaning? Why am I taking risk “at my age?” This ageism stuff is getting really old.”
“My life does not revolve around ski racing,” she continued. “I am a woman that loves to ski. I don’t have an identity issue; I know exactly who I am. I was retired for six years, and I have an amazing life. I don’t need to ski, but I love to ski. I came all this way for one final Olympics, and I’m going to go and do my best, ACL or no. It’s as simple as that.”
Vonn is one of the most decorated downhill skiers ever, with a resume that features three Olympic medals — including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Games in Vancouver — and 84 World Cup golds.
