Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic downhill, undergoes surgery after early fall

In this image taken from video provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services, OBS, United States Lindsey Vonn crashes during an Alpine ski women’s downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy, Sunday, February 8, 2026. Photo: Olympic Broadcasting Services via AP

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn’s bid for another Olympic medal ended just seconds after it began Sunday when the American star and medal favorite crashed early in the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.

The 41-year-old, competing despite a ruptured ACL in her left knee sustained nine days earlier, lost control on the opening traverse after cutting an aggressive turn on a critical part of the course. As she cleared a gate, her right arm caught it midair, spinning her off balance and sending her crashing hard onto the snow.

Vonn was heard screaming in pain as medical personnel rushed to her side. She was stabilized on the slope, and airlifted by helicopter off the mountain. She was initially taken to a clinic in Cortina before being transferred to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso.

Hospital officials later said Vonn underwent surgery “to stabilize a fracture reported in her left leg” and was being treated by a multidisciplinary team. The U.S. Ski Team said she was in stable condition.

“She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” U.S. Ski and Snowboard chief of sport Anouk Patty said. “This sport’s brutal and people need to remember when they’re watching (that) these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”

The crash cast a pall over the finish area and raised questions about the future of one of the most decorated skiers in history. Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion, had mounted a comeback in hopes of contending again on the sport’s biggest stage. She had tallied two wins and five podiums this World Cup season leading up to the Games and is the current 2026 World Cup leader to this point in downhill.

Teammates said the emotional impact of watching her fall was immediate.

“Watching Lindsey go down from the start was pretty awful,” Jacqueline Wiles said after the race. “We have such a sisterhood. We travel with each other on the road. We’re a family. And to watch someone that you care about so much — it really sucks. My heart kind of just broke for her in that moment. But that’s the inherent risk of this sport.”

Wiles added that Vonn would want her teammates to remain focused on their races.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by L I N D S E Y • V O N N (@lindseyvonn)

Breezy Johnson said coaches told her Vonn was cheering for the team from the helicopter as she was flown off the mountain.

“I don’t claim to know what she’s going through,” Johnson said. “But I do know what it is to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through. The physical pain we can deal with. The emotional pain is something else.”

Vonn had acknowledged the challenge of racing with a compromised knee but said in the lead-up to the downhill that she believed she could contend.