Despite undergoing surgery for a broken left foot, skiing icon Lindsey Vonn has defended her decision to compete in the Olympics.
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Published February 10, 2026
American skier Lindsey Vonn said Monday she suffered a “compound fracture of the tibia” in a fall during a downhill run at the Winter Olympics and will require “multiple surgeries.”
“Yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, but despite the intense physical pain, I have no regrets,” Bon said on social media from the Italian hospital where he was being treated.
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Vonn, 41, insisted that the torn anterior cruciate ligament she suffered in a crash during a World Cup race before Milan-Cortina “had nothing to do with my crash.”
“When I tightened the line five inches too much, my right arm got caught inside the gate, twisted me around and crashed,” she added.
“I sustained a compound fracture of my tibia, which is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to properly heal.”
In her first statement since the accident, Vonn said, “My Olympic dream didn’t end the way I dreamed it. It wasn’t a picture book ending or a fairy tale, it was just life. I dared to have a dream and worked hard to achieve it.”
“Because in downhill ski racing, the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as little as 5 inches.”
Vonn crashed just 13 seconds into the run. She was pulled from the slopes by a rescue helicopter and is being treated at a hospital in Treviso.
After resuming her career at the end of 2024 after nearly six years of retirement, she had seven World Cup podiums, including two wins, and was considered a strong candidate for the Olympic downhill competition before her crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, before the Olympics.
