Ski star Lindsey Vonn was seriously injured in a fall. Nevertheless, she doesn’t want to miss out on the Winter Olympics.
As the American announced on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) at a specially called press conference, she tore the cruciate ligament in her left knee. Nevertheless, the 41-year-old wants to take part in the Winter Olympics “Give your best” and see what that’s enough for: “As long as there’s a chance, I’ll try.”
Lindsey Vonn was one of the big favorites for gold at the Olympic Games in Cortina. But the consequences of the fall in Crans-Montana at the Olympic dress rehearsal now significantly reduce her chances of winning a medal on February 8th in the downhill and on February 12th in the super-G.
Successful comeback
Over a year ago, Lindsey Vonn surprised the ski world. At the age of 40, the American announced her comeback after a break of more than five years. Her return to skiing did not go smoothly. Critics called her crazy, others were skeptical as to whether she would make it back to the top of the world with a partial prosthesis in her right knee.
But pretty quickly Vonn silenced her critics. At the age of 41, she dominated the speed disciplines: two victories in the downhill and, with the exception of the Super-G in St. Moritz, she was always on the podium.
Vonn’s dream: Olympic medal win in their “living room”.
Vonn’s big dream was a fourth Olympic medal. “Everyone knows that I’m a competitive guy and you can probably imagine what I’m aiming for. So you could conclude that that’s my goal”Vonn had said in advance in an interview with “olympics.com”.
In 2010 in Vancouver she won her (so far) only gold medal. This was followed by two bronze medals. She wanted to fulfill her dream in her “living room”. On the “Olimpia delle Tofane” slope, where the Olympic women’s races are held in Cortina, the speed queen celebrated twelve victories in downhill and super-G.
In the downhill race in Crans-Montana, Vonn fell after just a few seconds after a jump and rushed into the safety net. She then remained lying in the snow for minutes before she was able to drive to the finish line on her own. But the pain was obvious; Vonn kept holding his knee.
Then on Tuesday it will be “I skied, my knee isn’t swollen. I feel better than I did at the World Cup in 2019, and I didn’t have a torn cruciate ligament.” She left it open whether she would compete in further races at the Olympics: “The goal is the descent. I have to wait and see how it feels. I have to drive 85 miles an hour first, then I can say it.”
