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Lindsey Vonn Says Torn ACL Won’t Stop Her From Competing at 2026 Olympics
Lindsey Vonn is recovering so well from her injury that she believes it won’t affect her making a ski comeback last week in Switzerland where unfortunately she got injured pretty bad. Vonn made it public on Tuesday that she had her right ACL ruptured, yet she intends to ski at the 2026 Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo finishing the first few runs before Practice.
“At first, of course, I didn’t expect it,” Vonn said at a press conference Tuesday. “I was really trying to work hard so I could come to these Games in totally different circumstances. I am aware of my opportunities before the fall. After the fall, I am sure that my opportunities are not equal to the ones before the fall, but I also know that there is a chance, and as long as there is a chance, I will try.”
Lindsey Vonn Details Additional Knee Damage, Still Planning to Race Olympic Downhill
Lindsey Vonn disclosed that her recent injury from last week’s accident was actually more serious as she also suffered from bone bruising and meniscal damage. The 41-year-old American told that it is only a week before the Games’ Opening Ceremony that the fall happened, but still, she is confident of competing.
“I feel stable, I feel strong, my knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday,” Vonn told, “If you take into account how my knee feels, I am very stable.”
Downtown the ladies’ downhill is the feature of Sunday’s race, which Vonn won at the 2010 Olympics.
During a World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 30, Vonn was the one to fall in a race against the elements, losing her balance just after a jump in the upper section of the track. At a high speed, she fell, slid on the snow, and then hit the orange safety netting.
Lindsey Vonn Vowed “My Olympic Dream Is Not Over” After Crash Ahead of the Games
Although Lindsey Vonn fell at a very high speed, she managed to get back on her feet and slowly make her way down the rest of the course, however, she stopped a few times, clutched her left knee, and seemed to not put weight on it. To be on the safe side, she was taken away from the race site by helicopter.
On the same day, Vonn shared a photo on Instagram saying her “Olympic dream is not over.” She further mentioned that she was “discussing the situation” with the doctors and that she would still get more exams done.
“Just one week before the Olympics, this is an outcome that I find hard to accept … but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” she said.
Currently, Vonn is getting ready for a comeback again—this one happening only a few days before the Olympic Games kick off.
Multiple Crashes Lead to Cancellation of Crans-Montana Downhill Due to Deteriorating Visibility
Lindsey Vonn was certainly not the lone skier to fall in Crans-Montana with unfavorable weather and low visibility conditions. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Norway’s Marte Monsen, two of the five racers who started ahead of Vonn, also went out, so the organizers had to call off the remainder of the competition.
“Basically, it’s the safety of the athletes that is the main reason,” Women’s World Cup race director Peter Gerdol told. “The visibility was deteriorating so the athletes could not see the race line in the proper way, and this caused the mistakes. We saw six athletes coming at the start and all of them made some errors. This clearly indicated that the situation was very dangerous.”
Vonn was expected to be one of the prominent figures at the Milan Cortina Games with a comeback story that surpassed everyone’s expectations. That narrative will, however, only be amplified if she is successful in getting to the start line.
Lindsey Vonn Forswears Retirement and Intends to Participate in Both Downhill and Super-G
Once a four-time overall World Cup champion and holder of the 2010 Olympic downhill gold medal, Lindsey Vonn retired in 2019 after her accumulating injuries took a severe toll on her physically. But experiencing a healthier state post partial knee replacement surgery in April 2024, she astounded everyone with an announcement of her return to the sport in November 2024.
So far this World Cup season, Vonn has been a powerhouse in the downhills and has even managed to stand on the podium after two of her first three super-G races, thus raising the expectation that she may get medals in two different disciplines at the 2026 Games.
Women’s downhill event is set at Feb. 8 while the super-G is four days later. Vonn insists that it is still her objective to be in both events even if she has just suffered an ACL rupture.
Lindsey Vonn Was Fully Committed at Crans‑Montana Despite Possibility of Losing Olympic Games
Lindsey Vonn was able to skip the very dangerous Crans‑Montana downhill race, but she instead opted to compete in order to earn World Cup points that were of great import to her. At that time, she was leading the downhill standings and was in sixth place overall.
Instead of taking it easy and playing it safe in the bad weather when the Olympic Games were only a few days away, Vonn charged the course right at the start gate and was the fastest at the first intermediate time.
Vonn was simply a fearless skier who was always looking for the best line that would get her the fastest time and thus she was always going to go for it.
Lindsey Vonn Vows to Compete Despite Injury: “Not Letting This Slip Through My Fingers”
Lindsey Vonn continues to use what she went through as her ‘toolbox’ to get out of her current situation. “I have had a lot of challenges throughout my career, unfortunately,” Vonn reflected. “I have always pushed the limits and downhill is a very dangerous sport and literally anything can happen. Because I’ve pushed the limits, I have fallen and been injured a bunch of times, more than I would like to.”
Even though the injuries are frequent, Vonn still focuses on her comeback. “I have fallen so many times and yet I have always got up; I have failed many times but I have always succeeded,” she said.
Her outstanding comeback was driven by such a spirit, but the matter of her damaged knee still remains. Will she able to compete at an Olympics level? However, Vonn is not entertaining any notion of failure. “I’m not letting this slip through my fingers,” she proclaimed. “I’m doing it. That’s it.”
