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U.S. Olympian Lindsey Vonn fired back at critics who pushed her to take a spot on Team USA despite suffering a torn ACL and later breaking her leg.
Vonn is recovering from multiple surgeries on the broken leg she suffered in women’s downhill skiing early in the Cortina Olympics in Milan. She was transported back to the US last week.
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Olympic athlete Lindsey Vonn, alpine skiing, speaks to the media during the US Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Javits Center on October 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
She said her push for an Olympic appearance at age 41 “wasn’t for nothing.”
“That was all. And it wasn’t a dream… even though I’m sitting in this hospital bed it seems far away now…” she captioned a video posted on her Instagram.
“But I did it. I came back. I won. I showed up and did what most people thought was impossible at my age with a partial knee replacement. I will have these memories forever and I am grateful for every single one of them. Every moment was amazing. Every moment was worth it.
USA’s Lindsey Vonn concentrates ahead of an alpine ski, women’s alpine official practice, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
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“One thing that stung was when people said I was selfish and should give my Olympic spot to someone else.”
Vonn recalled that she was one of the best World Cup skiers during the season before joining Team USA. She was first in downhill and third in super-G position. She made the podium in seven out of eight events.
“It’s not impossible until it’s done. I didn’t reach my ultimate goal… But I still did a lot,” she added. “Thanks to those who believed.”
Lindsey Vonn of the United States arrives at the finish line for a women’s downhill skiing event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Vonn has been posting updates on her recovery since she was in an Italian hospital. She said last week that she had not been on her feet since the injury.
