Lindsey Vonn is in a stable condition in hospital after crashing in the women’s downhill event at the Winter Olympics. The Team USA skiier clipped the gate on the first jump and landed horribly before a helicopter came to airlift her to hospital in Cortina.
Vonn, 41, decided to take part in the event just nine days after tearing her ACL. The former gold medallist’s crash left onlookers worried, but there has now been a positive update on her health.
The US ski and snowboard team wrote: “Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”
Speaking to NBC shortly after the incident, Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow said: “I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign.
“But she really… she just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay. She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.”
The downhill race was won by Vonn’s USA team-mate Breezy Johnson, who sent a message to her after picking up her gold medal. The 30-year-old said her “heart goes out” to Vonn, adding: “I hope it’s not as bad as it looked and I know how difficult it is to ski this course.
“And how sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and it hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse.”
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Team USA’s Jackie Wiles finished fourth in the downhill and said of Vonn: “Watching Lindsey go down from the start was pretty awful. I mean, we have such a sisterhood. I mean, we travel with each other on the road.
“We’re a family and to watch someone that you care about so much, it really sucks, and my heart kind of just broke for her in that moment.”
International ski federation president Johan Eliasch was asked about Vonn’s decision to risk her health by competing with an ACL injury. “Knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, she knows her injuries, and she knows also what she’s capable of,” Eliasch said.
“So, I’m sure she made a correct decision to start today. Everybody had such high expectations. And yeah, it’s tragic, but again, it’s ski racing and accidents do happen.”
Vonn is a hugely experienced skiier and was competing in her fifth Winter Olympics. She won gold in the women’s downhill event in 2010 and has also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline.