In her first interview since her catastrophic Olympic crash, Lindsey Vonn reflected on her career, recovery and what's next.
“I was number one in the world, and potentially on my way to an Olympic medal,” Vonn said. “Now I’m in a wheelchair.”Lindsey Vonn is opening up about the devastating crash she endured at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, the support she received in the aftermath, and whether she plans to return to skiing in a candid new interview.
WATCH HERE "I was number one in the world, and potentially on my way to an Olympic medal," Vonn said."Now I’m in a wheelchair."In a video on social media, skier Lindsey Vonn said her surgeon saved her leg from amputation following her crash at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Still, she traveled to Italy and made practice runs for the women's downhill event. She was the third-fastest skier in qualifying, setting her up for a potential medal run in the final on Sunday, Feb. 8, nine days after her torn ACL and eight years after her most recent Olympic appearance., sending her crashing down the slopes as bloodcurdling screams were caught on camera. She was eventually airlifted off the mountain and has since undergone five surgeries for injuries to her tibia, fibula and ankle, on top of her already-torn ACL. "My leg was broken. My skis were still on. My leg was torqued and I couldn't get my skis off. I couldn't move, and I was yelling for help," Vonn said."I just needed someone to take my skis off."The pain and severity of the injury did not stop once Vonn left the slopes. She had a battle with compartment syndrome, where pressure mounts, restricting blood flow and causing nerve damage. "I’m sure you’ve seen hot dogs or brats on a grill. They get more and more swollen. Then all of a sudden, they burst. They crack. That’s basically what happens with compartment syndrome," Tom Hackett, the head physician for Team USA Ski and Snowboard, said."There was a very significant chance that she was going to lose all function of her leg, if not the leg itself. Best-case scenario in those situations is, you might keep your leg, but it’s going to be useless." Hackett also described performing double-duty as a doctor and security guard because of the media storm outside the official Olympic clinic. "It was just an awful situation," he said."Paparazzi were bum-rushing the place, saying that they were friends and part of her PR team." In all, it was eight days before Vonn was able to make it back to the U.S., where she continues physical therapy and rehab. "Everyone said it was reckless and I was taking a spot from somebody else and all this nonsense," Vonn said about the backlash of her attempting to ski on a torn ACL at the Olympics."I'm not crazy. I know what I can do and what I can't do." High performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais discusses the mental challenges for a elite athlete after suffering a major injury. With three medals across five Winter Games to go along with eight world championship medals and 84 World Cup wins, Vonn said she doesn't want her Milan Cortina crash to be her career-defining moment. "I don’t want people to hang on this crash and be remembered for that," she said."What I did before the Olympics has never been done before. I was number one in the standings. No one remembers that I was winning." Coming back for the Milan Cortina Games was already an arduous task. However, even following a life-changing crash on the sport's biggest stage, Vonn still won't definitely hang up her skis. "I don't like to close the door on anything, because you just never know what's going to happen," she said."I have no idea what my life will be like in two years or three years or four years. I could have two kids by then. I could have no kids and want to race again. I could live in Europe. I could be doing anything ... "It's hard to tell with this injury. It's so f----- up. I really feel like that was a horrible last run to end my career on ... I only made it 13 seconds. But they were a really good 13 seconds." AP photojournalist Jacquelyn Martin explains her position on the course, her split-second reaction, and how she captured the rare sequence of Lindsey Vonn’s crash during the Olympic downhill in Cortina.
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