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Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn revealed on Wednesday that she underwent a third operation on her broken leg following a crash at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Vonn called the surgery “successful” in a post on her Instagram. She shared the update alongside photos of herself in a hospital bed and a metal frame attached to her leg.
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Lindsey Vonn of the United States in the finish area during the women’s downhill training during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center on February 6, 2026. (Leonhard Foeger/Reuters via Imagn Images)
“I had my 3rd surgery today and it was successful. Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago,” Vonn wrote in the post. “I’m making progress and even though it’s slow, I know I’ll be fine.
“Grateful for all the incredible medical staff, friends, family who have been by my side and the beautiful outpouring of love and support from people all over the world. Also, a big congratulations to my teammates and all the Team USA athletes who are out there inspiring me and giving me something to cheer about.”
Superstar athletes including Naomi Osaka and Shaun White wished Vonn the best of luck as she begins her recovery and rehabilitation process.
Vonn, 41, was already skiing with a torn ACL, but she had to be lifted off the mountain in a terrifying scene during the women’s downhill downhill on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn of Team United States during the track inspection before the downhill training at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center on February 6, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT/GettyImages)
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Officials at an Italian hospital where Vonn was taken soon after the crash said she underwent surgery to “stabilize a fracture in her left leg.” Vonn had said she suffered a “complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to properly repair.”
Before the Games began, many wondered how Vonn would ski on her torn ACL, but she was determined to try to medal in her signature event. Her runs on Friday and Saturday went fine, but she lost control a few seconds into her Sunday run and things got very serious afterwards.
Vonn said earlier this week that she had no regrets about her decision to race.
“While yesterday didn’t end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it brought, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget,” she wrote in a separate Instagram post. “Knowing that I was standing there and had a chance to win was a victory in itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always has been and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.
“And like skiing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that’s also the beauty of life; we can try.
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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“I tried. I dreamed. I jumped.”
