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US Olympian Lindsey Vonn has hit back at critics who slammed her for taking a spot on the US team despite suffering a torn ACL and later broken leg.
Vonn is recovering from multiple surgeries on the broken leg she suffered during the women’s downhill in alpine skiing at the start of the Milan Cortina Olympics. She was repatriated to the United States last week.
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Olympic athlete Lindsey Vonn, alpine skier, speaks with the media during the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in preparation for the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics at the Javits Center on October 28, 2025. (Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)
She said her desire to compete in the Olympics at age 41 “wasn’t in vain.”
“That was it. And it wasn’t a dream…even though sitting in that hospital bed seems far away now…” she captioned a video posted to her Instagram.
“But I did it. I came back. I won. I showed up and did what most thought was impossible at my age with a partial knee replacement. These memories I will have forever and I am grateful for each and every one of them. Every moment was incredible. Every moment was worth it.
American Lindsey Vonn concentrates before an official practice in alpine skiing, women’s downhill, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
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“One thing that stung me was when people said I was selfish and should give my Olympic spot to someone else.”
Vonn remembers being one of the top skiers in the World Cup during the season before joining the U.S. team. She finished first in the downhill and third in the super-G standings. She reached the podium in seven out of eight events.
“It’s not impossible until it’s done. I haven’t reached my ultimate goal… But I’ve still done a lot,” she added. “Thank you to those who believed.”
Lindsey Vonn of the United States arrives at the finish area of a women’s downhill alpine skiing practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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Vonn has been posting updates on her recovery since being in an Italian hospital. She said last week that she hasn’t been on her feet since her injury.
