MILAN — Lindsey Vonn said Tuesday she ruptured the ACL in her left knee in a downhill crash on Jan. 30. However, she said she went skiing earlier Tuesday and her knee feels stable and strong and she plans to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Vonn said she is not in pain and her knee is not swollen. She said she needs to go through downhill training to truly assess how she feels. She said her main goal is to compete in the downhill and will make decisions on the team combined and super-G later.
‘I’m still here. I think I’m still able to fight. I think I’m still able to try. And I will try as long as I have the ability to, I will not go home regretting not trying,’ Vonn said. ‘I will do everything in my power to be in that starting gate.’
Vonn is among the greatest skiers of all-time, a three-time Olympic medalist whose 84 World Cup wins are behind only Mikaela Shiffrin and Ingemar Stenmark. Vonn was forced to retire in 2019 because of the physical pain from a series of injuries to her right knee. But after having a partial knee replacement in April 2024, Vonn felt so good she began contemplating a comeback.
“I retired in 2019 because my body said no more, not because I didn’t want to continue racing,” Vonn told USA TODAY Sports in October. “So I feel like this could be an incredible moment to end this chapter of my life and move forward in a really exciting and peaceful way.”
Here’s what you need to know from her news conference.
Lindsey Vonn injury updates
Here is what the superstar skier said about rupturing her ACL in her Jan. 30 crash.
‘I had a feeling it was bad, but I held out hope until I saw the MRI in front of me. But I haven’t cried.’
‘It’s only been a few days. So if you’re looking at it scientifically, you don’t lose strength that quickly. So as long as my swelling is down, my muscles are firing, my strength is what it was a few days ago.’
‘I have not deviated from my plan. I’ve been determined. Normally in the past, there’s always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers. But I didn’t have that this time. I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it, end of story. So I’m not letting myself go down that path. I’m not crying. My head is high, I’m standing tall, and I’m gonna do my best, and whatever the result is, that’s what it is. But never say I didn’t try.’
Lindsey Vonn on Olympic team combined and super-G
Vonn said her ability to compete in the team combined on Feb. 10 and the super-G on Feb. 12 depends on how downhill training goes.
‘I don’t know exactly. I have to see how I feel,’ she said. ‘My intention is to race everything. That’s my goal. I’ll finish the season if I can. I don’t know, I can’t tell you that until I have a downhill training run and see how I feel. Normally in situations like this, your knee is good until it’s not … I have to really be diligent with everything we’re doing and be strategic and systemic in everything we’re doing … we’ll see how it holds up. I’ll go as long and as far as I can take it.’
Will Lindsey Vonn compete in 2026 Winter Olympics?
Vonn said Tuesday she will try to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Hours after her Jan. 30 crash, Vonn said she was consulting with her doctors and will have further tests. ‘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,’ Vonn wrote. ‘My Olympic dream is not over. Thank you all (for) the love and support. I will give more information when I have it,’ she added.
She closed the post by saying, ‘It’s not over until it’s over,’ adding heart and bicep emojis.
Why Lindsey Vonn ski to compete in Cortina
Cortina has always been one of Vonn’s favorite places. She made her first World Cup podium there, winning a bronze medal in the downhill in 2004, and 12 of her 84 World Cup victories came there.
To ski in an Olympics there, maybe have those be her final races, seemed a fitting end.
“It’s such a special place for me,” Vonn said in October. “I don’t think I would have tried this comeback if the Olympics weren’t in Corina. If it had been anywhere else, I would probably say it’s not worth it.
“But for me, there’s something special about Corina that always pulls me back.”
Lindsey Vonn injury history
Here’s a list of Vonn’s significant injuries throughout her career.
January 2019: Impact injury to peroneal nerve.
November 2018: Torn lateral collateral ligament and meniscus in left knee, three tibial plateau fractures from crash during training at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
November 2016: Fractured humerus in right arm from crash during training at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
August 2015: Broken ankle from crash during training in New Zealand.
February 2016: Multiple fractures in left knee from crash during World Cup super-G in Andorra.
December 2013: MCL sprain in right knee.
November 2013: Torn right ACL from crash in training at Copper Mountain, Colorado.
February 2013: Torn ACL and MCL in right knee and tibial plateau fracture in right leg following crash in super-G at world championships.
February 2010: Broken right pinkie from crash in giant slalom at Vancouver Olympics. (Where she’d previously won the downhill gold.)
December 2009: Microfractures in left forearm after crash during giant slalom in Lienz, Austria.
February 2009: Severed tendon in right thumb cutting open champagne bottle at world championships in Val d’Isère, France.
February 2007: Sprained right ACL after crash during training at the world championships in Åre, Sweden.
How many Olympics has Lindsey Vonn been to?
The 2026 Milano Cortina Games are her fifth Olympics.