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Lindsey Vonn was aiming for Olympic gold last month in Italy, but an accident required five surgeries that saved her leg from having to be amputated.
During one of his first races Milan Cortina Olympic GamesFresh off a torn ACL suffered a week before the Games, Vonn fell, resulting in a compound fracture of her leg.
Vonn also needed a blood transfusion because of the amount of blood lost during surgeries, including one that required “a lot of plates and screws” and lasted nearly six hours.
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Lindsey Vonn races down the course during official women’s alpine skiing training at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati))
But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Vonn left the door open to returning to the mountain.
“I don’t like closing the door on anything, because you never know what’s going to happen,” Vonn said. “It’s hard to say with this injury. It’s so fucked up.”
Vonn initially retired in 2019, but announced nearly six years later that she was making a comeback. She made her way onto the Olympic team and found herself in steady form.
Lindsey Vonn of Team USA crashes during the women’s downhill on the second day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center on February 8, 2026, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (IOC via Getty Images)
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That’s why she’s not ready to officially call it quits.
“I really feel like it was a horrible last run to end my career. I only managed 13 seconds. But it was a really good 13 seconds,” she added.
Vonn’s skis failed to come off during her fall, which likely aggravated the injury. Vanity Fair noted that Vonn “spends almost all of her time in rehab,” including two hours of physical therapy and another two hours in a hyperbaric chamber, all before even officially training.
Lindsey Vonn of the United States is airlifted after an accident during a women’s alpine ski race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
If Vonn decides to call it quits, she will remain one of the most decorated skiers of all time, winning an Olympic gold medal in 2010 and two world championships while also owning 84 World Cup victories.
