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Lindsey Vonn was aiming for Olympic gold last month in Italy, but a crash led to five surgeries that saved her leg from being amputated.
In one of her first runs at Olympics in Cortina in Milanfresh off a torn ACL she suffered a week before the Games, Vonn fell, resulting in a compound fracture of her leg.
Vonn also needed a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood lost during the surgeries, including one that required “a lot of plates and screws” and took nearly six hours.
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Lindsey Vonn speeds down the track during the women’s official alpine training at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati))
But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Vonn left the door open to getting back on the mountain.
“I don’t like to close the door on anything because you just never know what’s going to happen,” Vonn said. “It’s hard to say with this injury. It’s so f—ed up.”
Vonn originally retired in 2019, but announced nearly six years later that she was returning. She made the Olympic team and found herself back in normal shape.
Lindsey Vonn of Team United crashes during the Women’s Downhill on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center on February 8, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (IOC via Getty Images)
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Therefore, she is not ready to officially resign.
“I really feel like it was a terrible last race to end my career on. I only managed 13 seconds. But it was a really good 13 seconds,” she added.
Vonn’s skis did not come off during her crash, which likely made the injury worse than it needed to be. Vanity Fair noted that Vonn “spends almost all of her time in rehab,” including two hours of physical therapy and another two hours in a hyperbaric chamber, all before she even gets an official workout.
Lindsey Vonn of the United States is lifted away after a crash during a women’s downhill skiing event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
If Vonn decides to call it, she’ll still go down as one of the most decorated skiers of all time, winning an Olympic gold in 2010 and two world championships while also owning 84 World Cup wins.
