Lindsey Vonn has revealed she suffered a complex tibia fracture in a crash that ended her Olympic career, with the injury requiring multiple surgeries as outlined by MailOnline.
The American skier, 41, sustained the injury during the downhill final at the Cortina venue of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, where she had become the oldest woman ever to compete in Olympic alpine skiing.
In a statement posted on Instagram, Vonn explained that the accident occurred when her right arm hooked inside a gate after she took a line just five inches too tight, twisting her body and causing the fall. She insisted this was unrelated to ruptured knee ligaments in the same left leg she had injured nine days earlier.
The crash necessitated her being airlifted from the mountain after medical crews attended to her on the slope, with the event suspended as other competitors waited. An Associated Press photo captured moments before the impact showed her arm on the wrong side of the gate, which appeared to snap before she tumbled and rotated 180 degrees onto the snow.
Vonn has already undergone two operations for what she described as a currently stable but complex fracture that will need further surgical intervention. Distressing scenes followed the incident, with the veteran wincing in pain and crying out as she was placed onto a stretcher, her skis still attached.
Her career, which includes three Olympic medals and 20 World Cup crystal globe titles over two decades, has been marked by resilience. She previously recovered from a complete ACL and MCL tear in 2013, and her achievements include 45 downhill wins and 28 super-G victories, along with being the first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold in Vancouver 2010.
In her social media post, Vonn reflected on the risk inherent in ski racing and expressed no regrets, stating that standing in the start gate with a chance to win was a victory in itself.
