American skier Lindsey Vonn crashed seconds into her downhill Olympic race on Sunday after she decided to compete despite rupturing her left ACL in a prior crash during a World Cup event in the Swiss Alps a week ago.
The 41-year-old American, who came out of retirement to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, earlier confirmed that she had fully ruptured her ACL, but said she felt confident she could still complete the race with the help of a knee brace.
Seconds into the race, Vonn lost control after she appeared to clip a flag marking the side of the course, flew sideways in the air and hit her head on the ground. She was responsive but did not get up. Medical personnel put her on a stretcher and airlifted her from the course.
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After the crash, Vonn could be heard screaming that she wasn’t able to remove her skis.
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated. Others in the crowd, including Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course where she had so many fond memories.
Thomas Pronske from Austin, Texas, who was watching the event on the sidelines, told CBS News after the accident: “I hope she’s OK. It did not look good. We saw her take quite a bit of a tumble and I’m praying and wishing for the best for her… She was a very big reason why I was here. It’s just remarkable the comeback story of her overcoming adversity … I’ve torn my ACL myself, I know it’s a painful injury… and again I hope she’s ok.”
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Maria Pronske, Thomas’ mother, who said she was so inspired by Vonn that she had come to see the event with an injured knee herself on her birthday, told CBS News that she “felt awful for her with her knee… Poor thing. I feel so sorry for her. I pray for her too.”
Crista Kosher, the cousin of Jacqueline Wiles, another Team USA skier, said it was “absolutely devastating to see her teammate be lifted off the hill.”
“Lindsay and Jacqueline have been racing together for years and years and years now, and they definitely have a mentor-mentee relationship, and seeing her friend go down is really challenging for everyone, but we wish the best for Lindsay and her recovery,” Kosher said.
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Charles Christianson, a retired ex-ski racer from Park City, Utah, said the crash was “absolutely heartbreaking.”
“Everyone is here to cheer on the entire American team and especially celebrate Lindsay’s incredible career. This is absolutely heartbreaking, but true to form, Lindsay wouldn’t have it any other way,” Christianson said. “She knew the risks. Ski racers always accept it and you saw the determination when she went out of the gate. She was charging. There was never a doubt in her mind what she was going to do and it was gonna be podium or bust and it goes both ways. So again, the respect of the crowd and everyone here shows how important she’s been to the sport. We’re going to have to see what happens. We wish her the best. But just a gut punch.”
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Ahead of Sunday’s race, one Team USA official had said that Vonn getting into a bad crash during the race was their biggest fear. Given all the attention on her and her inspiring story, the image of her being airlifted off the course during the race was their worst-case scenario.
Before her retirement in 2019, Vonn had competed with a torn lateral collateral ligament, three tibia fractures and a bone bruise, and still won a bronze medal. She now has one titanium knee, though that’s not the joint that’s currently injured.
“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey, and one that some did not believe in from the start,” Vonn said in a social media post late Saturday. “I retired for 6 years, and because of a partial knee replacement, I had the chance to compete one more time. But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple… I just love ski racing.
“I am not unsure about life outside of sport. I am not searching for meaning or for attention or money. I know exactly who I am and I know exactly what I am made of,” she said.
Vonn had clocked the third-fastest time in a training run on Saturday, ahead of the race — behind her teammate Breezy Johnson — though the run was called off due to bad weather before all the racers had participated.
“I think it’s a good run,” Vonn’s coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, said. “Tomorrow is the race and it’s the Olympics and the girls will push harder. So everyone will probably go faster, meaning Lindsey would also need to go faster. But it’s a solid run, but I think she has one more gear.”
Johnson raced ahead of Vonn and completed the run in just over 1:36.
