CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn will be headed home soon.
Vonn said in an Instagram post on Saturday, Feb. 14, that her fourth surgery went well and she can finally return to the United States. Once there, she will need another surgery to repair complex tibial fracture in her left leg, suffered in a crash in the Olympic downhill.
‘Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury,’ Vonn wrote.
Vonn also reiterated that she has no regrets, even if her Olympics ended in the horrific crash. Despite a torn ACL, bone bruising and meniscus damage in her left knee from a Jan. 30 crash, Vonn said she felt stronger physically than she often has in the past.
‘Certainly stronger than I was when I ended career in 2019 where I got a bronze medal in the World Championships,’ she wrote. ‘And mentally…. Mentally I was perfect. Clear, focused, hungry, aggressive yet completely calm. … I was more ready than I have ever been.’
But that didn’t guarantee her anything, Vonn said. In going all out in trying to win another Olympic gold medal, she was taking a risk. A risk she took willingly, and she doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her because of how it ended.
‘If you don’t try you’ll never know,’ she wrote. ‘So please don’t feel sad (for me). The ride was worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night, I don’t have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains. I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will.”
Vonn included a video of her last run before the crash in Cortina, one of her favorite places. She made her first World Cup podium in Cortina, and 12 of her 84 wins came here.
‘Thankful I have this memory,’ she said.
Lindsey Vonn Instagram update
What happened to Lindsey Vonn?
Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, which sent her spinning and hurtling into the hard, packed snow. She tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop.
‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’
The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.
What is Lindsey Vonn’s injury?
In an Instagram post on Feb. 9, Vonn shared the devastating news that she suffered a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. The 41-year-old updated fans on Feb. 11 after a third surgery in Italy and included some gruseome photos of her progress . On Feb. 13, Vonn posted after yet another surgery that she still has more procedures ahead of her.
‘It’s been a quite hard few days here in the hospital here. I’m finally feeling more like myself, but I have a long way to go,’ Vonn said . ‘Tomorrow, I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well. Then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I’ll need another surgery. Don’t know exactly what that entails until I get some better imaging.
A tibia fracture is a break in the shin bone that is an emergency needing immediate treatment. ‘Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone.’
A complex fracture involves multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according Yale Medicine. Symptoms include extreme pain, numbness and, sometimes, a bone that protrudes through the skin. Treatment involves stabilization and surgery.
Lindsey Vonn crash video
NBC broadcasts the Olympics and posted video of Vonn’s crash .
USA TODAY Sports’ Samantha Cardona-Norberg breaks down Linsdey Vonn’s crash just after it happened.
Fans went silent as soon as Vonn crash, reacting with shock, grief and later support as the helicopter lifted her into the sky. USA TODAY Sports talked to some fans after the crash .
Is Lindsey Vonn OK?
Vonn was in obvious pain after the crash, but she was moving her arms, head and neck.
About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. ‘Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!’ the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.
Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course today for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast:
‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … She just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s okay.
‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’
Lindsey Vonn torn ACL
It was second time in as many weeks Vonn left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising , in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.
Vonn is also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.
Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she had spent the last week doing intense rehab , pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was canceled because of fog and snow.
Lindsey Vonn Olympics history
Vonn is 41 and was skiing in her fifth Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2026). She has won three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze).