Lindsey Vonn Crashes in Olympic Downhill After Returning From ACL Tear

Alpine skiing star Lindsey Vonn of the United States, who chose to compete at the Olympics despite being diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, crashed during the race and was airlifted to a hospital by medical helicopter.

Vonn failed to finish the women’s downhill at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday (local time) at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, after an early accident.

Starting 13th, Vonn struck a gate in the opening section, lost her balance and fell. She remained down for a time before on-site medical staff assessed her and called a medical helicopter to take her to a hospital.

Athletes and spectators at the venue watched the crash on the video board. U.S. skier Breezy Johnson, who was leading at the time, was seen covering her face.

Vonn is one of the sport’s top downhill racers. She won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She retired in 2019 but returned ahead of the 2024-2025 season to prepare for these Olympics.

She remained competitive after her comeback, posting two wins, two runner-up finishes and three third-place results on the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) World Cup circuit this season. But on Jan. 30, she injured her left knee on a jump landing at a World Cup event in Switzerland and was diagnosed with a torn ACL.

Despite the injury, she opted to compete at the Olympics and completed local training as scheduled, but her race ended with Saturday’s crash.