Lindsey Vonn injury: Olympic skier to compete on torn ACL at games

Feb 3, 2026 - 19:00

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Jan 30, 2026; Crans-Montana, SWITZERLAND; Lindsey Vonn of the United States is air lifted to a hospital after sustaining an apparent injury in the women's downhill alpine skiing race during the FIS World Cup. Mandatory Credit: Denis Balibouse/Reuters via Imagn Images | Denis Balibouse/Reuters via Imagn Images

Legendary Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn isn’t going to let an injury ruin her return to the games. Vonn had to be airlifted after crashing during a downhill race in Switzerland on January 30th, and now less than a week later she’s planning to compete in the 2026 Olympics — on a torn ACL.

Vonn announced Tuesday that despite rupturing her ACL in the crash she’s still planning to race at the Milano Cortina games. It will require a specialized knee brace, and an amount of fortitude that’s unheard of. It’s unclear at this time if Vonn will compete in the Super-G, which is set to begin on February 12 — with her focus being on her primary event, the downhill, which is scheduled to start on February 8.

When asked about her decision to compete Vonn was stoic, saying she wasn’t getting emotional about the injury, and instead plans to fight back.

“I am not letting this slip through my fingers,” she said. “I’m not crying. My head is high, I’m standing tall and I’m going to do my best and whatever the result is.”

The 41-year-old skier has been in the middle of one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of the sport. Vonn retired from competition in 2019 after needing knee reconstruction surgery. The in December of 2024, five years after leaving the sport, Vonn came back to competition saying the pain in her knee that led to her retirement was gone, prompting her to see how far she could push herself.

That question was answered quickly as Vonn slowly ramped up her performances to finish on the podium once more. The culminated on December 12, 2025 when Vonn became the oldest downhill skier to win an event in history, finishing first in St. Moritz.

The Cortina d´Ampezzo course marked as an ideal hill for Vonn, and the belief was that she could become one of the oldest medal winners in downhill skiing history at these games. It’s unbelievable to imagine that she can still put forth a great performance on a torn ACL stabilized by a brace, but one thing is for certain: Doubting Lindsey Vonn is a fool’s errand. The skier is going to do everything in her power to compete, and it will only add to her legacy by competing, regardless of the outcome.