Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital with a broken leg after a horrific crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina
Lindsey Vonn at the 2026 Winter Olympics (Image: Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT, Getty Images)
American icon Lindsey Vonn witnessed her Olympic aspirations crushed in devastating fashion in 2026 and she has ruled out a return in four years unless circumstances dramatically alter. The 41-year-old skier sustained a broken leg at the Milan-Cortina games after clipping a gate and crashing just seconds into her run. Vonn claimed Olympic gold and bronze in Vancouver in 2010 before landing another medal in Pyeongchang in 2018 and was hopeful of adding to that tally in 2026. She competed in Italy despite carrying an ACL injury sustained mere days before the games, perhaps recognising it was her last chance. She signalled prior to travelling to Cortina that she harboured no intention of featuring in the next edition in 2030 in the French Alps and indeed she might have competed for the last time in any competition.
“Of course I have to see how things go – if I’m competitive in the standings and all of those things – but everything that I do is for Cortina,” Vonn told TNT Sports in December. “And I have to be careful with my training, everyone’s getting hurt and so I’m limiting the things that I’m doing to make sure I get to Cortina healthy.” When questioned whether the 2026 Olympics would mark her final races, Vonn stated: “The only way I’ll continue this season is if I’m in the hunt for a title. Otherwise February 12 will be my last day.”
The February 12 date referenced by Vonn related to the Super-G, where she had also been scheduled to race. The injuries incurred in the downhill have left her requiring multiple operations, though, with the American reflecting on the crash in an emotional social media message.
“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would,” she posted on Instagram following her hospital admission. “It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail [sic], 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. Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.
Vonn was airlifted to hospital after her crash (Image: FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT, AFP via Getty Images)
“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.
“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.
“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped. 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. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”