The five-time Olympian was airlifted off the mountain after getting tripped up by a course marker just 13 seconds into her run on Feb. 8
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin; Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Lindsey Vonn is in stable condition and in the hands of doctors after crashing in the women’s downhill final at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Vonn fell just 13 seconds into her run and had to be airlifted off the mountain
- The five-time Olympian had “completely ruptured” her ACL just a week earlier
Lindsey Vonn was injured, but is in "stable condition" after brutally crashing during the women's downhill final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.
"Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians," the team said in a statement shared to X on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Vonn, 41, crashed just 13 seconds into her run on after her right ski pole got caught in a course marker. In the high-speed race, Vonn lost her balance and tumbled through the air multiple times before landing on the mountain.
The five-time Olympian could be heard yelling, "Oh my God" in pain as a medical team carefully put her on a stretcher and airlifted her off the mountain.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Vonn's sister Karin Kildow, who was in the spectator stands in Cortina d'Ampezzo watching the race, said on NBC’s broadcast that the family is "hoping for the best."
"That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see. It happened quick. So when that happens you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay," Kildow said. "It was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, that is not a good sign."
Vonn's sister acknowledged that the race was always a risk, considering the skier had fully torn her ACL just a week earlier and decided to race in her final Olympics.
“I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes, just, like, things happen,” Kildow said. “It’s a very dangerous sport. And there are a lot of variables at play. I don’t really know exactly what happened. It did look like a pretty rough fall. We’re just hoping for the best."
The 2010 Olympic gold medalist was also determined to make these Milan Cortina Games happen for a deeply personal reason, she told PEOPLE last month.
“Honestly, I don’t know if I would have done this if it wasn’t at Cortina," she admitted. “It’s where I got my first podium [placing third at the 2004 World Cup]. I also broke the women’s World Cup record there.”
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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