NEED TO KNOW
- Lindsey Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson spoke out in defense of the 41-year-old, who will compete in the 2026 Winter Games with a ruptured ACL
- Johnson said “more athletes have competed without an ACL than you think,” when one fan asked why there was “no backup athlete” for Vonn
- Vonn ruptured her ACL on Jan. 30 at a World Cup race in Switzerland, but announced days later she will still compete and believes “she’s still able to fight”
Lindsey Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson is defending the 41-year-old’s decision to compete in the Olympics on a ruptured ACL.
After Vonn announced Tuesday that she’ll race in the downhill event at the 2026 Winter Game despite “completely” rupturing her ACL one week prior at a World Cup race, some fans questioned whether or not she should have pulled out.
When one person asked why there was “no backup athlete” for Vonn, saying “seems she can’t possibly be elite with those compromises,” fellow alpine skier Johnson, 30, responded on social media in defense of her teammate.
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“There will be 6 Americans running the Downhill training runs and if Lindsey cannot compete… or doesn’t feel competitive enough others can take her place,” Johnson wrote in a response on Threads.
Johnson added, “But more athletes have competed without an ACL than you think. They just often don’t talk about it because they don’t want to hear about it from the peanut gallery.”
Fans appreciated Johnson’s explanation in defense of the gold medalist. “Thank you for setting him straight! I’ve tried to defend her choice to others – but there’s too many know-it-all experts” out there,” wrote one user.
Vonn ruptured her ACL on Friday, Jan. 30 when she crashed in low visibility conditions during a downhill race in Crans Montana, Switzerland. “This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” she said after the injury, adding that her “Olympic dream is not over.”
Announcing she’ll still compete in the 2026 Winter Games days after sustaining her injury, Vonn told reporters, “I think I’m still able to fight, and I will do everything in my power to be in that starting gate,” she said.
“It was painful initially after the crash,” she said. “I had a feeling it was bad, but I held out hope until I saw the MRI in front of me. But I have not cried, I have not deviated from my plan.”
Vonn will compete in the downhill event on Sunday, Feb. 8 in Cortina. The five-time Olympian said she will decide later if she will also compete in the Super-G event the following on Feb. 12.
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