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Lindsey Vonn’s fairy tale Olympics came to *** brutal stop on the downhill course. She had said that her goal was to make it to the starting gate, but she didn’t make it much farther. It seemed almost too good to be true. 9 days after rupturing her left ACL, Lindsey Vonn met her goal of starting the downhill race. 13th on the start list and just 13 seconds into her run, Vonn clipped *** gate, spun around, and crashed hard, leaving fans watching, gasping. It was just Shocking how fast it happened and how early in the run. You think it’s 90 seconds she’s got it. She’s done all this prep. It’s *** great story. And then for it to fall apart in 15 seconds was heartbreaking. Vaughn had to be airlifted from the course while the competition went on hold and her teammates watched. Her coach said that she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope, I hope for the best for her. I hope that it’s not too bad. And yeah, I mean my Aches for her. It’s such *** brutal sport sometimes. American Breezy Johnson, the world champion in downhill, took Olympic gold, Team USA’s first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics. I hope that we can keep this ball rolling, and yeah, I mean, I guess it’s exciting and *** little bit surreal to be the first one or whatever. The Fellow Americans Jackie Wild came in 4th and Bella Wright came in 21st at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I’m Juha Fitzpatrick.
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American Lindsey Vonn was preparing to fly back to her home country on Sunday after her terrifying head-over-heels crash in the Olympic downhill, the U.S. Ski Team’s chief told The Associated Press.Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said the team’s medical staff has been coordinating Vonn’s recovery since the crash and subsequent helicopter evacuation at the Milan Cortina Games and would try to accompany her home. Vonn has had multiple surgeries in Italy to repair a complex tibia fracture in her left leg.”We’re working through all of that at the moment,” Goldschmidt said. “We’ve got a great team around helping her, and she’ll go back to the U.S. for further surgeries.”Spectators tuning in to see Vonn attempt to win a medal at age 41 with a torn ACL in her left knee and a partial titanium replacement in her right knee were stunned when she clipped a gate 13 seconds into her run, resulting in a spinning, airborne crash that sent her careening down the Dolomite mountain.”The impact, the silence, everyone was just in shock. And you could tell it was a really nasty injury,” said Goldschmidt, who was there. “There’s a lot of danger in doing all sorts of Alpine sports but it gives more of an appreciation for how superhuman these athletes are.”I mean, putting your body on the line, going at those speeds, the physicality. Sometimes, actually, on the broadcast, it’s really hard to get that across,” Goldschmidt added. “Danger sometimes brings fans in and is pretty captivating. We obviously hope we won’t have injuries like that, but it is unfortunately part and parcel of our sports.”Vonn herself said she has no regrets.”When I think back on my crash, I didn’t stand in the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences,” Vonn said in an Instagram post late Saturday. “I knew what I was doing. I chose to take a risk. Every skier in that starting gate took the same risk. Because even if you are the strongest person in the world, the mountain always holds the cards.”But just because I was ready, that didn’t guarantee me anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed. That’s the gamble of chasing your dreams, you might fall but if you don’t try you’ll never know,” Vonn added.Goldschmidt visited Vonn at the hospital twice and said, “She’s not in pain. She’s in a stable condition.”She took an aggressive line and was all in, and it was inches off what could have ended up a very different way,” Goldschmidt said. “But what she’s done for our sports and the sport in general, her being a role model, has gone to a whole new level. You learn often more about people during these tough moments than when they’re winning.”
American Lindsey Vonn was preparing to fly back to her home country on Sunday after her terrifying head-over-heels crash in the Olympic downhill, the U.S. Ski Team’s chief told The Associated Press.
Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said the team’s medical staff has been coordinating Vonn’s recovery since the crash and subsequent helicopter evacuation at the Milan Cortina Games and would try to accompany her home. Vonn has had multiple surgeries in Italy to repair a complex tibia fracture in her left leg.
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“We’re working through all of that at the moment,” Goldschmidt said. “We’ve got a great team around helping her, and she’ll go back to the U.S. for further surgeries.”
Spectators tuning in to see Vonn attempt to win a medal at age 41 with a torn ACL in her left knee and a partial titanium replacement in her right knee were stunned when she clipped a gate 13 seconds into her run, resulting in a spinning, airborne crash that sent her careening down the Dolomite mountain.
“The impact, the silence, everyone was just in shock. And you could tell it was a really nasty injury,” said Goldschmidt, who was there. “There’s a lot of danger in doing all sorts of Alpine sports but it gives more of an appreciation for how superhuman these athletes are.
“I mean, putting your body on the line, going at those speeds, the physicality. Sometimes, actually, on the broadcast, it’s really hard to get that across,” Goldschmidt added. “Danger sometimes brings fans in and is pretty captivating. We obviously hope we won’t have injuries like that, but it is unfortunately part and parcel of our sports.”
Vonn herself said she has no regrets.
“When I think back on my crash, I didn’t stand in the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences,” Vonn said in an Instagram post late Saturday. “I knew what I was doing. I chose to take a risk. Every skier in that starting gate took the same risk. Because even if you are the strongest person in the world, the mountain always holds the cards.
“But just because I was ready, that didn’t guarantee me anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed. That’s the gamble of chasing your dreams, you might fall but if you don’t try you’ll never know,” Vonn added.
Goldschmidt visited Vonn at the hospital twice and said, “She’s not in pain. She’s in a stable condition.
“She took an aggressive line and was all in, and it was inches off what could have ended up a very different way,” Goldschmidt said. “But what she’s done for our sports and the sport in general, her being a role model, has gone to a whole new level. You learn often more about people during these tough moments than when they’re winning.”
