Lindsey Vonn to compete at Winter Olympics despite ruptured ACL

Lindsey Vonn will try to compete at the Winter Olympics despite suffering a “completely ruptured” ACL in her left knee.

Vonn had a nasty crash during the downhill World Cup even in Crans-Montana last Friday – exactly one week before the Olympic opening ceremony – ending up in the safety nets and being airlifted away for medical attention after gingerly skiing to the bottom of the course.

The 41-year-old American, who made a stunning return to competitive skiing at the age of 40 last year after retiring six years prior, was set to be one of the stars of this Winter Olympics.

The crash seemingly ended her hopes of competing at a fifth Games, where she would be trying to win a fourth Olympic medal, but after three days of physical therapy and consultations with doctors, Vonn went skiing on Tuesday with a brace on her knee.

Her first event, the women’s downhill, takes place on Sunday (8 February), with Vonn then also targeting the super-G and the team combined event.

In front of a packed room of media in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Tuesday afternoon, the American confirmed the ACL rupture but also her intention to still try and compete at the Games.

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“Last Friday, in Crans-Montana, in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL,” she said. “I also have bone bruising, which is a common injury.

“We have been doing extensive therapy, been consulting with doctors, been in the gym, and today, I went skiing, and considering how my knee feels, it feels stable; I feel strong.

“I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren’t the same as it stands today, but I know there is still a chance. And as long as there’s a chance, I will try.”

The opening women’s downhill training session is scheduled for Thursday, 24 hours before the opening ceremony, which should give her a better idea of whether she is fit enough to reach the start-line.

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Vonn already has a partial titanium implant in her right knee but that hasn’t stopped her being the dominant force in women’s downhill skiing this season, securing two victories and three other podium finishes from the five races. Meanwhile, in the super-G, she has finished on the podium in seven of the eight World Cup races she has completed – coming fourth in the other race.

The women’s skiing at this Olympics takes place in Cortina, a course Vonn has shone at – securing a World Cup record 12 wins there throughout her career.

She already has three Olympic medals to her name, winning gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at Vancouver 2010 and picking up another downhill bronze at PyeongChang 2018.

The World Cup event in Crans-Montana at which she suffered the crash last week was first shortened as a result of poor weather conditions before organisers took the decision to cancel it entirely as snow continued to fall.

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Three of the first six racers crashed; Nina Ortlieb of Austria and Marte Monsen of Norway were the others to abandon their runs, the latter taken away on a stretcher with a bloodied face, before Vonn suffered her incident as the sixth racer on the course.

Unlike Vonn, Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde – who won a super-G bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 – will not compete at these Games, after failing to recover from a back injury.

“With the sudden jump in full-speed training, my body has needed more time than my mind would like,” the 33-year-old said on Instagram. “That’s led to the back issues that kept me out of Kitzbuehel and made racing in Crans-Montana anything but easy. Because of that, I’ve decided to end my season earlier than planned.”