Lindsey Vonn, a hopeful for the 2026 Olympics, has finally addressed the incident that occurred on Sunday, February 8, when she crashed and needed to be airlifted from the course.
Despite having ruptured her ACL just days before, Vonn, 41, decided to hit the slopes on Sunday. She participated in test runs prior to her event and felt well enough to compete.
However, things went awry when Vonn clipped one of the course flags, resulting in a fall. As she tumbled down, her cries of pain could be heard until she was airlifted to a hospital.
Since the crash, little information has surfaced, aside from confirming that the 41-year-old suffered a fractured leg.
Vonn has now broken her silence, sharing a detailed post on Instagram about the incident.
On Monday, February 9, she wrote: “Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life.
“I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”
Vonn further revealed that she has a complex tibia fracture and will require ‘multiple surgeries’ for her recovery, although she is currently stable.
She continued in her post: “While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.
“Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.”
Emphasizing her lack of regret about competing, Vonn encouraged others to be inspired by her experience and to ‘dare greatly.’
“Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me,” she concluded.