American skier Lindsey Vonn crashed in the women’s downhill competition at the Winter Olympics nine days after rupturing her left anterior cruciate ligament.
The 41-year-old had successfully completed two training runs on the iconic Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina but crashed early in her run.
She was tended to for a lengthy period on the slope before being airlifted off the piste.
Vonn was taking a huge risk by competing on Sunday having suffered the ACL injury in Switzerland in the last World Cup race before the Games.
But she was determined to take to the course in what she says will be her final Olympics.
Stunned spectators in the stands applauded towards the helicopter as it carried her away from the piste which has brought her so much success in the past – with 12 of her 84 World Cup wins coming here.
Vonn was the 13th skier to go in the women’s downhill and the treatment she needed after the crash led to a significant delay to the competition.
She had appeared relaxed in the training runs and in the morning before the race with her coach Aksel Lund Svindal saying on Friday that he felt confident Vonn could pull off something spectacular.
No stranger to a comeback, Vonn retired from the sport in 2019 as the most decorated female skier at the time but had suffered several serious leg injuries.
She made a shock return to the sport in 2024 having had a partial knee replacement in her right knee.
Vonn was tipped for the podium in Cortina following a successful 2025-26 season, in which she reached the podium in all five races, winning two.
But this latest crash leaves a significant doubt over whether Vonn will ski competitively again.
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