American skiing icon Lindsey Vonn’s defiant bid for a final Olympic medal ended in a harrowing crash seconds into the women’s downhill race at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Sunday.
The 41-year-old, competing just nine days after suffering a torn ACL, was airlifted from the Olympia delle Tofane course after a violent fall that silenced the crowd and paused the race for nearly half an hour.
The dramatic day was marked by extreme contrasts for Team USA, as Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson later conquered the same treacherous course to win the gold medal, the first for an American woman in downhill since Vonn herself in 2010.
Vonn’s run unraveled almost immediately. Approximately 13 seconds after leaving the start gate, she took a tight line around a right-hand turn. Her right arm or shoulder clipped a gate while she was in the air off a jump, sending her spinning uncontrollably.
She landed awkwardly with her weight too far back on her skis, then tumbled and somersaulted across the snow before coming to a stop. Her agonized screams were audible across the mountainside as medical personnel rushed to her side.
“That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see,” Vonn’s sister, Karin Kildow, told NBC. “When that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s OK. It was scary because when you start seeing the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign”.
After roughly 15 minutes of on-slope treatment, Vonn was secured to a gurney and transported by helicopter to a local hospital for further evaluation. The U.S. Ski Team stated she would be assessed by medical staff but provided no immediate update on her condition.
The crash cast a pall over the event, with fans falling into a shocked silence and fellow competitors visibly shaken. “I’m still processing a lot after what happened with Lindsey,” said American skier Jacqueline Wiles, who finished tied for fourth.
“She looks hurt quite a bit… We’re such a tight group. Lindsey has really been a huge mentor for all of us, and seeing her go down like that, it really sucks”. From the leader’s seat, gold medalist Breezy Johnson covered her eyes, unable to watch the scene unfold.
Once the race resumed, Johnson, the reigning world champion from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, delivered a historic and emotional performance. Her blistering early run, completed with a top speed of 80 miles per hour, held through the rest of the field.
She finished in 1 minute, 36.10 seconds, just 0.04 seconds ahead of Germany’s Emma Aicher, while Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze.
“My heart goes out to her,” Johnson said of Vonn after her victory. “I hope it’s not as bad as it looked. I know how difficult it is to ski this course. Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and it hurts you, it hurts that much more”.
Johnson’s win made her the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual Alpine skiing medal since 2014.
Vonn’s decision to start the race had been the subject of intense discussion after she ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during a training crash in Switzerland last week. She also has a partial titanium replacement in her right knee.
Officials suggested the injury was not the direct cause of the fall. “I don’t think the accident she had was a result necessarily of her recent injury,” said International Ski and Snowboard Federation president Johan Eliasch. “Knowing Lindsey, she knows her body… I’m sure she made a correct decision to start today”.
Her peers highlighted the immense personal risk she was willing to take. “It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn,” said U.S. skier Bella Wright. “After all the preparation, after years of hard work and rehabilitation… it’s the last thing you want to see somebody go through. But she should be really proud… She’s an inspiration to all of us”.
The incident underscores the brutal reality of elite Alpine skiing. “This sport’s brutal and people need to remember when they’re watching that these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast,” said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
As the helicopter carrying Vonn flew over the finish area, the crowd broke into supportive applause.
Though her Olympic journey appears to have concluded in the most painful way, her legacy as a competitor who dared greatly remains intact. “She put it all out there,” her sister said. “She always goes 110 percent, there’s never anything less”.