Olympic Heartbreak: Lindsey Vonn Suffers Devastating Crash in Comeback Bid

Lindsey Vonn’s audacious attempt to win Olympic gold at age 41 ended in tragedy Sunday when the American skiing legend crashed violently during the women’s downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, suffering a broken leg that required surgery and evacuation by helicopter.

Vonn, competing on a rebuilt right knee with a partial titanium replacement and a badly injured left knee, lost control just moments after leaving the start house. She clipped a gate with her right shoulder before pinwheeling down the slope, coming to rest awkwardly on her back with her skis crossed beneath her. Her screams echoed across the mountain as medical personnel rushed to her aid.

The crash hushed the crowd gathered at the finish area as medical teams worked for several agonizing minutes to stabilize Vonn before airlifting her from the course. She was initially taken to a clinic in Cortina before being transferred to the larger Ca’ Foncello hospital in Treviso, about two hours south.

“She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard. “This sport’s brutal and people need to remember when they’re watching that these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”

Hospital officials confirmed Vonn underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture in her left leg. The U.S. Ski Team later reported she was in stable condition and “in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”

The crash occurred in front of Vonn’s family, including her father Alan Kildow, who watched solemnly as his daughter received treatment. Celebrity spectators, including rapper Snoop Dogg, looked on in stunned silence as the four-time overall World Cup champion was evacuated from the mountain she once dominated.

On a bittersweet day for the American team, Breezy Johnson captured gold in the downhill, becoming only the second American woman to win Olympic gold in the event since Vonn accomplished the feat 16 years ago in Vancouver. Johnson, whose own Olympic dreams were dashed by injury before the 2022 Beijing Games, held off Germany’s Emma Aicher and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

“I don’t claim to know what she’s going through, but I do know what it is to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you and to watch those dreams die,” Johnson said after her victory. “I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through and it’s not the physical pain — we can deal with physical pain — but the emotional pain is something else.”

The 41-year-old Vonn had become the talk of these Olympics, making a remarkable comeback to elite skiing after nearly six years away from competition. Despite her age and numerous injuries, Vonn had stunned the skiing world by immediately becoming competitive again, entering the Games as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings.

Vonn’s latest injury setback came just nine days earlier when she crashed in Switzerland, tearing her ACL and suffering meniscus damage and a bone bruise. Despite this, the skiing legend was determined to compete on the Cortina course where she had won a record 12 World Cup titles.

“This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn had said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”

Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, called the crash “tragic, but it’s ski racing,” adding, “I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport, because this race has been the talk of the Games and it’s put our sport in the best possible light.”

International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry offered support, saying, “Dear Lindsey, we’re all thinking of you. You are an incredible inspiration, and will always be an Olympic champion.”

The crash sent shockwaves through the skiing community and beyond. Fellow American skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin posted a broken heart emoji on social media, while fans in Cortina expressed their dismay.

“It’s such a huge loss and bummer,” said American spectator Megan Gunyou. “Hearing her story and the redemption of her first fall and fighting to come back to the Olympics this year, I mean, I feel so sad for her.”

The accident is likely to end the storied career of one of the greatest Alpine skiers in history, whose resilience through decades of injuries had become as much a part of her legend as her 82 World Cup victories.