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NEED TO KNOW
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Lindsey Vonn celebrated her journey to the Olympics in a post Feb. 7, hours before her crash in the women’s downhill event
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“No matter what happens, I have already won,” the 41-year-old wrote on Instagram
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Vonn was hoping to make a comeback six years after retiring, and one week after tearing her ACL in the final World Cup race before the 2026 Milan Cortina Games
Lindsey Vonn’s race ended in heartbreak with a terrifying crash, but the night before, the five-time Olympian felt she “already won.”
Vonn, 41, celebrated making it to the 2026 Winter Olympics in an Instagram post on Saturday, Feb. 7, hours before she snagged her right ski pole on a marker and got twisted up, spinning through the air before crashing to the ground.
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The 2010 Olympic gold medalist had to be airlifted off the mountain and was taken to a hospital in nearby Innsbruck, Austria.
Vonn is no stranger, though, to injuries and comebacks — she has undergone dozens of surgeries over her vaunted skiing career, including two knee replacements, and is literally part-titanium, after having her right knee partially repaired with the metal.
“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey, and one that some did not believe in from the start. I retired for 6 years, and because of a partial knee replacement, I had the chance to compete one more time,” Vonn wrote on Saturday.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
“But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple… I just love ski racing,” she continued, explaining that her comeback isn’t for money, or attention.
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Vonn said she realizes “that the odds are stacked against me with my age, no ACL, and a titanium knee- but know that I still believe.”
“I will race tomorrow in my final Olympic Downhill and while I can’t guarantee a good result, I can guarantee I will give it everything I have. But no matter what happens, I have already won.”
Vonn had hoped to medal on Sunday in Cortina, just one week after she “completely ruptured” her ACL in a World Cup race on Jan. 30. But she vowed to compete, and said with a smile, “I think this would be the best comeback I’ve done so far. The most dramatic, that’s for sure.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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Read the original article on People
