After competing in the Women’s Downhill event with just one functional ACL, American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn has tragically crashed out of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
After five years away from the sport, the 41-year-old miraculously returned after knee replacement surgery and won multiple World Cup competitions in the fastest skiing discipline.
Days before the Milan-Cortina Games started, the 2010 gold champion tore her ACL, but she chose to compete with a damaged ligament instead of having surgery until after the Olympics.
Despite that she impressed in her training runs, hitting a top speed of 119 km/h.
Yet it all went terribly wrong for Vonn in the main event on Sunday night (AEDT).
Just 14 seconds into her run, Vonn clipped a gate with one of her ski poles which sent her tumbling down the hill.
“This is a disaster,” commentator Matt Hill said on Nine.
“Look at the silence in the crowd. It says it all.”
She was left prone on the mountain and required medical assistance including a stretcher to recover
.
A helicopter was sent to rescue her due to the difficulty of accessing the course.
