Lindsey Vonn Opens Up About Injury After Olympic Crash: A Heartfelt Reflection
Lindsey Vonn took to Instagram to express her emotions after a crash abruptly halted her Olympic aspirations. “Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would,” she wrote on February 9, reflecting on the harsh realities of competitive skiing. “It wasn’t a storybook ending or a fairy tale; it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it.”
The incident occurred just 13 seconds into her run during the women’s downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics on February 8, leading to her being airlifted from the scene. Vonn had previously torn her ACL in a World Cup race in Switzerland on January 30, but she clarified that this injury did not contribute to her crash.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulting in my crash,” Vonn explained. “Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.” Her initial surgery took place shortly after her transport to an Italian hospital.
Despite the pain and disappointment, Vonn remained resolute. “While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets,” she stated. “Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.” She acknowledged the inherent risks of her sport, emphasizing that racing has always been dangerous.
“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall,” she continued, offering a philosophical perspective on her experience. “Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try.”
Vonn urged her followers to embrace their own journeys: “I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself.”
While Vonn has not publicly discussed her professional future, her father, Alan Kildow, made his stance clear. “She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” he stated emphatically. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Kildow expressed confidence in his daughter’s strength, noting, “She’s a very strong individual. She knows physical pain and she understands the circumstances that she finds herself in.” He added that she is handling the situation better than expected.
Regrettably, Vonn will not be able to support her Team USA teammates in person for the remainder of the Olympics. “She’s not in that kind of situation,” Kildow said. “She will be going home at an appropriate point in time.”
