“Legends always get back up”
After horror fall: Football star encourages Lindsey Vonn
02/24/2026 – 6:37 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After her many operations, Lindsey Vonn is sharing details of the ordeals of the last few days for the first time. And suddenly Cristiano Ronaldo speaks up.
The serious fall of US star Lindsey Vonn has concerned the entire sports world. After her emotional Instagram video, in which she speaks in detail about the ordeals of the past few days, many athletes commented on her post. Including soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Champions are defined by the moments when they win and the moments when they refuse to give up,” wrote the 41-year-old under the almost five-minute video. “The mountains you have conquered have never been greater than the strength you carry within you. Keep fighting,” urged Ronaldo and concluded his comment with the words: “Legends always get up.”
The Portuguese international striker has now received over 78,500 likes for these words. Vonn herself reacted: “It means so much to me that this came from you,” she wrote. In addition to Ronaldo, other athletes also spoke up. Zlatan Ibrahimović, for example, commented: “Giving up is not an option.” Vonn replied in all caps: “Never!”
Vonn had previously spoken out in an emotional Instagram video around two weeks after her serious fall at the Winter Olympics and spoke in detail about her injuries and the following operations. “It’s been a long road, the most extreme and painful injury I’ve had in my entire life.”
The damage was so bad that she was on the verge of amputation. Vonn suffered several fractures in his leg, “basically everything was in ruins.” The operating surgeon saved her leg “from being amputated.” The reason for this was compartment syndrome, an emergency condition in which the pressure in severely damaged areas increases so much that muscles and nerves die due to a lack of blood flow.
To prevent the worst case scenario, she required several procedures. Vonn said she was “very grateful” to the doctor, especially for “that six-hour operation he did on Wednesday to restore everything, which went extremely well.” Because of the high blood loss, she had to stay in the hospital “longer than hoped.” Due to low blood levels (hemoglobin), she needed a transfusion. But now she is out and has “a long way” ahead of her.
