Lindsey Vonn Undergoes Surgery After Olympic Downhill Crash
U.S. skiing icon Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery on a broken leg at an Italian hospital after her bold attempt to claim Olympic downhill gold ended in a frightening crash.
Vonn, 41, was taken by helicopter to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso following the high-speed accident on the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The hospital said she had orthopaedic surgery later in the day to stabilise a fracture to her left leg. A source told Reuters she was being monitored in intensive care for privacy reasons and stressed her condition was not life-threatening.
How the incident unfolded
Her run lasted just 13 seconds. Wearing bib number 13 and a brace on the left knee she injured in a January crash at Crans Montana, Vonn launched aggressively out of the start gate. She appeared to brush the fourth gate with her shoulder, lost control and was thrown into the air before hurtling off the course and landing heavily.
Television footage captured her screaming in pain as medics rushed to her side and a stunned silence fell over the finish area. She was placed on an orange stretcher and winched into a Falco 2 Alpine rescue helicopter, which first took her to Cortina’s Codivilla Putti Hospital for assessment before she was flown on to Treviso. Spectators applauded as the helicopter passed overhead.
Vonn’s comeback, despite a ruptured knee ligament, had been one of the dominant storylines of the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics. She was chasing history as the oldest Alpine skiing Olympic medallist after winning two World Cup downhills this season and finishing on the podium in the other three.
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said the sporting world was thinking of Lindsey Vonn.
«You are an incredible inspiration and will always be an Olympic champion,» she said.
The crash left fellow skiers shaken. American teammate Breezy Johnson, who went on to win gold, turned away as the helicopter arrived.
«My heart goes out to her,» Johnson said, adding that Vonn’s coach later told her she was cheering from the helicopter. «When you love the course so much and it hurts you like that, it hurts even more.»
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