CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Lindsey Vonn, racing on a badly injured left knee, crashed early within the Olympic downhill on Sunday and was taken off the course by a helicopter after the 41-year-old American acquired medical consideration on the snow for lengthy, anguished minutes.
Vonn misplaced management over the opening traverse after chopping the road too tight and was spun round within the air. She was heard screaming out after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel earlier than she was strapped to a gurney and flown away by a helicopter, presumably ending the skier’s storied profession. Her situation was not instantly identified, with the U.S. Ski Group saying merely she can be evaluated.
Breezy Johnson, Vonn’s teammate, won gold and have become solely the second American lady to win the Olympic downhill after Vonn did it 16 years in the past. The 30-year-old Johnson held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day for Group USA.
Vonn had household within the stands, together with her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down on the floor whereas his daughter was being handled after simply 13 seconds on the course. Others within the crowd, together with rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly because the star skier was lastly taken off the course she is aware of so effectively and holds a report 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn’s crash was “tragic, however it’s ski racing,” mentioned Johan Eliasch, president of the Internationl Ski and Snowboard Federation.
“I can solely say thanks for what she has carried out for our sport,” he mentioned, “as a result of this race has been the discuss of the video games and it’s put our sport in the very best gentle.”
All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She had returned to elite ski racing final season after practically six years, a outstanding determination given her age however she additionally had a partial titanium knee replacement in her proper knee, too. Many questioned how she would fare as she sought a gold medal to affix the one she gained within the downhill on the 2010 Vancouver Video games.
The four-time total World Cup champion shocked everybody by being a contender virtually instantly. She got here to the Olympics because the chief within the World Cup downhill standings and was a gold-medal favourite earlier than her crash in Switzerland 9 days in the past, when she suffered her newest knee harm. Along with a ruptured ACL, she additionally had a bone bruise and meniscus injury.
Nonetheless, nobody counted her out even then. In fact, she has skied via injuries for three decades on the high of the game. In 2006, forward of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a nasty fall throughout downhill coaching and went to the hospital. She competed lower than 48 hours later, racing in all 4 occasions she’d deliberate, with a high results of seventh within the super-G.
“It’s positively bizarre,” she mentioned then, “going from the hospital mattress to the beginning gate.”
Cortina has all the time had many treasured memories for Vonn past the report wins. She is named the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course that had all the time suited Vonn. She examined out the knee twice in downill coaching runs over the previous three days earlier than the terrible crash on Sunday in clear, sunny situations.
“This is able to be one of the best comeback I’ve carried out to date,” Vonn mentioned earlier than the race. “Undoubtedly probably the most dramatic.”
After the crash, the celebration for the medalists was held and fellow skiers thought of Vonn’s legacy.
“She has been my idol since I began watching ski racing,” mentioned Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. “We nonetheless have a World Cup to do after Olympics … I wouldn’t be stunned if she all of a sudden exhibits up on the beginning gate, however the crash didn’t look good.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
