The Olympic downhill competition in Cortina was suspended on Sunday after American skier Lindsey Vonn sustained a broken leg in a horror crash that ended her fifth and final Games appearance.
Vonn, 41, was airlifted to a hospital in Treviso following the incident, where she underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilise the fracture in her left leg, as detailed by MailOnline. The US Ski and Snowboard Team stated she is in a stable condition and is being cared for by a team of American and Italian physicians.
The crash occurred just 13 seconds into her run when she clipped a plastic course marker, sending her cartwheeling down the piste. Witnesses described her right leg hitting the ground first, followed by a tumble where she appeared to smash her shoulder before coming to a halt. Her skis remained attached throughout.
Medical crews attended to Vonn, who was heard screaming in agony and seen wincing in pain as she was placed on a stretcher. The Cortina crowd fell silent during the evacuation.
The injury comes nine days after Vonn ruptured the cruciate ligaments in her left knee during a warm-up event in Switzerland. Despite that, she had surprised many by declaring her intention to race in Italy and had posted the third-fastest time in final practice.
Her sister, Karin Kildow, watching from the base of the slope, told NBC, per USA Today, that it was “the last thing we wanted to see” and expressed hope for her recovery, noting Vonn had her medical team on hand. Vonn was transferred to intensive care post-surgery for extra privacy, not due to a greater medical necessity.
Vonn had defied significant odds to compete, having undergone a reconstruction on her right knee in 2024 before the recent ACL rupture. She completed multiple training runs, improving from a time 1.39 seconds off the pace on Friday to one minute and 38 seconds on Saturday, which was 37 seconds behind teammate Breezy Johnson—the eventual gold medallist.
As she left the start gate, her coach was heard shouting, “keep charging, keep pushing.” Following the crash, the event was halted, with other competitors removing their skis at the top of the slope while awaiting Vonn’s evacuation.
The 2010 downhill gold medallist has not yet commented on the incident, which brought a distressing conclusion to her Olympic career.
