Lindsey Vonn, known as the most decorated American downhill skier in history, is facing the most serious battle of her career after a catastrophic crash at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics left her with what doctors describe as a “complex tibia fracture.”
Last Sunday (February 8) the 41-year-old was heard screaming on the course during the downhill final before being stretchered off the mountain and airlifted to hospital. She has since undergone three surgeries.
Highlights
- Lindsey Vonn suffered a complex tibia fracture at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics and has already undergone three surgeries.
- A French orthopedic specialist warned that her immediate goal is “to keep her leg and be able to walk.”
- Despite the prognosis, Vonn says she has “no regrets” about chasing one final Olympic medal.
Now, a leading French orthopedic specialist has delivered a harsh assessment of what lies ahead.
“Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk,” said Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, a knee surgeon based in Lyon, speaking to RMC Sport.
“Some injuries like hers can end in amputation…”
Olympian Lindsey Vonn shared an update with her fans after doctors shared concerning news about her future
Image credits: Getty/Daniel Kopatsch/VOIGT
Vonn’s crash occurred in a split second.
As she sped down the mountain during her final Olympic run, she crested a hill and careered into one of the plastic markers lining the course.
Her right side caught a ski gate. Her right leg appeared to strike the ground first as a cloud of powder exploded around her.
She tumbled forward again, seemingly smashing her shoulder into the slope before coming to a stop.
Image credits: Getty/Julian Finney
The Cortina crowd fell silent. Medical crews rushed onto the course. Organizers began playing background music over her cries as she was lifted onto a stretcher. The downhill event was suspended.
Other competitors removed their skis and waited at the top of the slope as Vonn was evacuated.
Image credits: IOC
Days later, Vonn addressed fans in an emotional near two-minute video posted today (February 13).
“I’m finally feeling more like myself but I have a long, long way to go,” she said.
“Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home. At which point, I’ll need another surgery. I still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging.”
Saturday’s operation will mark her fourth procedure since the crash.
“That’s kinda where I am right now. I’m just in the hospital, very much immobile,” she added.
Vonn sustained a complex tibia fracture that damaged her skin, nerves and muscles
Image credits: CBC News
“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly,” Vonn previously wrote.
French orthopedic knee specialist Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet warned that her immediate focus must be survival of the limb.
“Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk,” he told RMC Sport. “I think we're not yet at the stage of returning to high-level skiing.”
Image credits: CBC News
He pointed to hospital images showing an external fixator pinned into her left leg.
“The latest images posted on her Instagram account show that, even though the surgeries were successful, the ‘external fixator’ – that is, the enormous pin they put in her left leg – proves that they haven't been able to fully repair her fracture,” he said.
Image credits: lindseyvonn
“It's only temporary for now. It's important to understand that her injury is extremely serious and will cause her problems for at least months, and could even leave her with lifelong consequences,” Sonnery-Cottet added.
Image credits: PatriotSteve64
Another French surgeon, Nicolas Baudrier, told French newspaper L’Equipe that the fracture likely involved multiple bone fragments and possibly skin, nerve, or muscle damage.
He noted that even a young person would typically need around a year to fully recover from such trauma.
Making matters worse is the fact that, before the downhill crash, Vonn had already ruptured her ACL roughly a week earlier during a tune-up race in Switzerland.
“My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever,” she wrote, explaining she was “5 inches too tight” on her line when her arm hooked a gate and twisted her into the fall.
The Olympian thanked her fans, expressed no remorse about her decision to compete, and cheered on Team USA
Image credits: Getty/Kevin Voigt
Vonn was chasing a fourth Olympic medal after coming out of retirement in 2024. She had stepped away from skiing in 2019 due to chronic knee pain and a string of injuries.
Despite the circumstances and consequences, she said she has “no regrets” about entering the start gate.
Image credits: Getty/Julian Finney
“My Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tale, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it,” she wrote earlier this week.
“Standing in the starting gate was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself.”
Her father, Alan Kildow, on the other hand, had a different view.
“There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it,” he told the Associated Press, adding that this should be “the end” of her career.
In Friday’s video, Vonn also thanked her support system, gesturing to the stuffed animals and flowers surrounding her hospital bed.
“Like I said, the letters and the notes and everything – the flowers – have just been so incredible,” she said.
“The staff and medical team have been amazing. So, I feel very lucky and fortunate to have so many people around me that have really helped me get through this. I just wanted to say thank you and go Team USA.”
"Champions need time to heal." Fans sent the Olympian their best wishes
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