Published April 30, 2026
Lindsey Vonn is still recovering physically and mentally from her horrific accident at the Winter Olympics. For now, difficult decisions about the future will await.
The American ski racer suffered a compound fracture in her left leg during a women’s downhill race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 8, and underwent eight surgeries after nearly having her leg amputated. At least one more is needed to repair an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in the same knee.
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So if the 41-year-old were to race again, and she’s not ready to make that decision, a return would be at least a year and a half away, Vonn said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions or even speculate about what I’m going to do,” Bonn said. “I might retire. I might never race again, and that’s totally fine. But I’m not emotionally in a position to make that decision at the moment.”
Vonn believes that had he been able to finish a comeback season that rivaled the best of his career, he would have returned to retirement. She ended a six-year hiatus from competitive racing, primarily to race in Cortina, one of her favorite courses and host of the Milan-Cortina Games.
Vonn, who won three Olympic medals in the downhill in 2010, including a gold medal, crashed just 13 seconds into the race and suffered a compound tibia fracture, shocking the star-studded crowd and ending a season in which she led the World Cup downhill and never finished lower than fourth in any race.
She has come back from various injuries in the past and now has a titanium implant in her right knee, but this time it was different. The pain was different. The eight surgeries are just one less than all the other surgeries she’s had combined.
“In that sense, this injury is very different, understanding the severity of the injury, understanding that he could have lost his leg, how bad the situation was,” Vonn said. “I can tolerate a lot of pain, but this was too bad. This injury was the most painful I’ve ever experienced.”
Vonn is making progress in and out of the gym, but not as quickly as she would like. She has moved beyond a wheelchair and now uses crutches, but she has grown tired of both and plans to be able to start walking short distances next week.
“Tell me I can’t do it, and I’ll prove you wrong.”
Vonn is able to travel again and is scheduled to travel to New York this week to discuss her support for biopharmaceutical company Invivid’s “Antibodies for Every Body” education campaign. She is also planning an upcoming vacation.
Beyond that, the future is difficult to see.
Vonn said she has not yet spoken to her doctors about what a return to skiing will look like and that she and her doctors want to focus on this stage of her recovery.
“In any case, nothing really will happen until 27-28, because there’s still one more surgery left to take out the metal and replace the anterior cruciate ligament. That still needs to happen,” Vonn said. “Once the ACL heals, it will take another six months, so it will take at least a year and a half to really get back to 100 percent just by training in the gym.”
Vonn knows that returning can be risky, and her family doesn’t want her to return. It was the day after the accident, while she was still in the hospital, that her father told her that if it were up to him, her career would be over. “He means the best. He forgot the golden rule: if you don’t want me to do something, don’t say it can’t be done. Just say it can’t be done and I’ll prove you wrong,” Bonn said.
Vonn never hesitated to take a chance, no matter the outcome. She competed in the Olympics a little more than a week after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament.
“Downhill skiing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. I’ve always been willing to take that risk. This is the result and I have no regrets,” Vonn said. “I don’t want to start over.”
However, she will decide whether to race again at some point.
For now, Vonn said she’s just focused on getting her feet healthy. Only after that can she start thinking about a career that may or may not end.
“Like I said, I’m still in survival mode and just want to get through this phase and figure out where I stand in life,” said Vonn, whose 84 World Cup wins are second most among women, behind only U.S. teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (110). “And think about what you’ve done and what you’re going to do and make a decision that will put you in a much better place than you are right now.
“I don’t want to make a decision right now because I think it would be too hasty and probably too emotional. I don’t want to make a mistake, do I?”
