Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital after a crash in her final Alpine Skiing World Cup event in worrying scenes just days before the start of the Winter Olympics.
The American skiing great, 41, lost control after landing a jump on the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, before skidding into the safety netting.
She got up after receiving medical attention for about 5 minutes, seemingly in pain and using her poles to steady herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish line, stopping a couple of times on the way down and clutching her left knee.
Vonn is one of the most decorated skiiers of all time and embarking on an incredible comeback to the sport going into next week’s Games. But now, there is huge concern over if she’ll be able to participate at all.
‘I know she hurt her knee, I talked to her,’ the International Ski and Snowboard Federation CEO Urs Lehmann told reporters in the finish area.
‘I don’t know if it’s really heavy and (if) she won´t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait for what the doctors are saying.’
Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital with an injury that could threaten her Winter Olympics
The American great, 41, appeared to hurt her knee after crashing in Switzerland
Vonn repeatedly clutched the back of her left knee after getting up from the crash
She was further assessed inside the medical tent before being airlifted away. Organizers cancelled the World Cup race after her crash due to the incessant snowfall.
One of her fellow competitors, Romane Miradoli of France, raised the alarm over the conditions and visibility.
‘You can’t see, and it’s bumpy everywhere,’ she said. ‘We just couldn’t see well.’
Miradoli was one of the few skiiers to complete her run.
Vonn made a stunning comeback last season at age 40 after nearly six years away from ski racing. Skiing with a partial titanium implant in her right knee, she has been the circuit´s leading downhiller this season with two victories and three other podium finishes in the five races.
Including super-G, Vonn had completed eight World Cup races this season and finished on the podium in seven of them. Her worst finish was fourth.
Vonn has won four World Cup overall championships and was among the favourites for the women’s downhill at the Winter Olympics, which begins on Friday next week.
The U.S Ski and Snowboard team simply said in a statement Friday morning that Vonn is ‘being evaluated.’
Vonn had around five minutes of medical treatment before getting back to her feet
In a recent interview with SELF, Vonn had explained that these coming Games in Italy would be her last, no matter what happened.
‘No, no, no. That’s all she wrote. This is 24 years after my first Olympics. I’ve won everything I could have ever won,’ she said.
‘I’m not doing this to prove anything to anyone. I’m doing this because I think I can do well, it’s a meaningful place for me, and I think I can make a positive impact… But I don’t have to.
‘I’m going to stand on the starting gate with a lot of clarity, and a lot of perspective, and a lot of wisdom and knowledge that you don’t have when you’re younger.
‘I think my age in this scenario is an advantage, and I’m gonna use that to the best of my ability.’
Speaking back in December, she was confident that the injuries that she has battled against so much in the past would be behind her.
‘Physically, I’m in possibly the best shape I’ve ever been in,’ she said. ‘And my body doesn’t hurt, so that’s the best part of all.’
Over the summer, Vonn committed to re-building her strength in the offseason she felt she lacked in her 2024-25 return season.
‘My goal was to get a lot stronger this summer,’ she said. ‘I was thinner than I would have liked last season. I was still quite a bit lighter than I was when I was racing in my prime.’
However, after ‘a lot of hard work’, Vonn says she was ‘able to gain about 12 pounds’ over her offseason.
‘I was probably the most disciplined I’ve ever been with my diet and just how I approached the entire summer,’ said the three-time Olympic medalist. ‘I put everything I had into being as physically prepared as possible.’
