CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn never wavered.
Almost from the moment the crash that wrecked her left knee happened, she insisted she could still compete at the Milano Cortina Olympics. It didn’t matter if those around her weren’t as certain. Or thought it better to take it day by day before committing to anything.
Vonn is a grown-ass woman who has weathered more than her share of challenges and heartbreaks. She knows herself and she knows her body, and she knew she could do this.
Now everyone else knows, too.
‘We’re all positive, but she’s awesome,’ Aksel Lund Svindal, the two-time Olympic champion who is now Vonn’s coach, said – the respect in his voice obvious. ‘She was the first one to say that this is happening, I’m racing.’
It was only a training run that Vonn did Friday, Feb. 6. She wasn’t skiing at full speed, and the course is likely to be faster during the actual downhill competition Sunday, Feb. 8.
But it wasn’t as if she was snowplowing her way down a bunny hill. Vonn was aggressive into every turn and took every jump, landing hard on the last one before the finish line, no less. Her time of 1:40.33 was 11th-fastest out of the field of 44.
Best of all, Svindal said Vonn looked ‘symmetrical’ during the run. There was nothing in her skiing that gave a hint she has a torn ACL, bone bruising and meniscus damage in her left knee from that crash that was only a week ago.
‘She made a mistake on the bottom, but the rest looked like just good skiing. No big risk,’ Svindal said. ‘And to me it looked symmetrical. I didn’t see any differences right and left. And I think that’s kind of what we’re looking for today.
‘So I thought it was good.’
It’s better than good. It’s mind-bogglingly amazing.
Vonn has been a source of inspiration and fascination since she announced her comeback in the fall of 2024. People her age – she’s 41 now – just don’t hurtle themselves down mountains at speeds that would get her a ticket if she was on the road.
She also has a block of titanium in her right knee, which was partially replaced in April 2024 because of the toll from years of injuries and crashes. Yet, she has dominated the World Cup circuit, leading the downhill standings after winning two of the season’s first five races and making the podium in the other three.
Now add skiing at an Olympics on a torn ACL, and there aren’t enough superlatives to adequately capture Vonn or what she’s doing.
But that’s what everyone gets wrong. Or doesn’t fully appreciate. This is who Vonn is. This herculean effort, this going all-out for a run that will last less than two minutes, this is her at her very core.
‘Obviously no one wins a lot of races without being mentally very, very strong,’ Svindal said. ‘But I think that’s maybe where she surprised me the most. How intense she gets.’
Vonn is not taking needless risks. Well, needless risks for a ski racer. She has been doing intensive physical therapy and pool workouts since the crash. She posted a video of herself Thursday, Feb. 5, doing squats, weight lifting and jumping off boxes. She is wearing a knee brace.
In everything she’s done, including free skiing sessions earlier this week, her knee has felt stable and strong. That confirmed for her what she already knew: She could do this.
‘When she’s that committed, and she knows her body really well from multiple injuries, there is a chance,’ Svindal said. ‘It’s not like every physio and doctor in the room raised their hand right away and said, ‘There’s a 100% chance of this being good on Sunday!’ Everyone did the right thing. Everyone’s worked really hard.
‘Everyone’s been like, ‘We make decisions as we get more info.’ Which means, we can go on Sunday until eventually something tells us we couldn’t,’ he added. ‘But it’s been going really well.’
And don’t be surprised if Sunday goes well, too.
Vonn has had more success in Cortina than anywhere besides Lake Louise, Alberta. She’s won 12 races here, six of them downhills, and made the podium another eight times. She understands this track and what she has to do to have success on it.
Now that she’s had a run to confirm her knee is up to it, Vonn can step on the gas.
‘There were reserves today,’ Svindal said. ‘She looks symmetrical and — you’ve seen earlier this season, when she skis well, she can win. And from what I saw today, I think she can. It’s going to be hard, but I think she could possibly win a medal.’
Vonn believes in herself. It’s about time everyone else does, too.