A week before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, 41-year-old American skier and former gold medalist Lindsey Vonn suffered a torn ACL during a World Cup run in Switzerland.
Despite the injury, she made it clear she would compete in the Olympics and completed two training runs in the days leading up to her first downhill event, proving she was at least healthy enough to take the course.
However, just seconds into her first run, Vonn took a hard fall, crashing to the ground and needing to be airlifted to a local Italian hospital, where she was diagnosed with a complex tibia fracture.
Since the injury on Feb. 8, Vonn has undergone more than five surgeries between her time in Milan and after returning to the United States, revealing that she was actually close to needing her leg amputated.
Now weeks into rehab, she seems to be making strong progress. Still, many fans have assumed her competitive skiing career is over.
But Vonn isn’t ready to call it quits just yet, sending a stern message to those urging her to retire.
“No, I’m not ready to discuss my future in skiing,”Vonn posted on X. “My focus has been on recovering from my injury and getting back to normal life. I was already retired for six years and have an amazing life outside of skiing. It was incredible to be #1 in the world again at 41 years old and set new records in my sport, but at my age, I’m the only one who will decide my future. I don’t need anyone’s permission to do what makes me happy. Maybe that means racing again, maybe it doesn’t. Only time will tell. Please stop telling me what I should or should not do. I’ll let you know when I decide.
“Also… just because I’m not ready to talk about retiring, doesn’t mean I’m racing,” she added. “It means I’m not ready to think about it yet. Rehab and recovery first…decide on where I go next in life later. Lots of life left to live. Will cross that bridge when I get to it.
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Reacting to comments suggesting she should have given up her spot on the Olympic roster, Vonn reminded fans that she earned her place through performance:
“I was #1 in the world. I earned my spot. And if I had not been fast enough to be in contention, I would have pulled out,” Vonn responded. “But I was third in the last training run, only Breezy was ahead of me for the Americans. So even with no ACL, I was in contention for a medal. Why on earth would I give up my spot? If you wanted to replace me, you’d be choosing someone three seconds slower than me… not sure that math adds up or how that means I’m selfish. Sports are clear cut: the fastest athletes compete. It doesn’t matter what people think; what matters is how fast you are.”
Vonn still has a long road to recovery ahead, which remains her primary focus, but a return to competition — especially at another Winter Games in 2030, when she would be 45 — would be remarkable.
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