10 Photos of Lindsey Vonn: Alpine Ski Racer Suffers Broken Leg After Crash at 2026 Winter Olympics

The crowd at Cortina d'Ampezzo was silenced after witnessing Lindsey Vonn crash during her downhill run on Sunday. The athlete was airlifted to a hospital and immediately treated for her injury, which prevented her from reaching the finish line.

Vonn is a celebrated and decorated alpine skier, so the incident caught everyone by surprise. What was expected to be a fairy-tale finale for the veteran ended up in a harrowing scene requiring medical intervention.

Who Is Lindsey Vonn

Vonn is a familiar name in the alpine skiing community. Her father, Alan Lee Kildow, a former junior national ski champion, introduced her to the sport when she was just over two years old. She started competing when she was seven.

Due to her early start in skiing, skills, and discipline, she has the most victories in her field. She has 82 World Cup wins and has collected 43 for downhill and 28 for super-G, Today reported.

She has represented Team USA in the Olympics five times across three decades. She made her Olympic debut in 2002 and also competed at the Winter Olympics in 2006, 2010, and 2018. However, she wasn't able to compete in 2014 due to a knee injury, which she said was 'disappointing'.

She previously expressed confidence in her return to the Olympics five years after her last. According to Vonn, she had 'so much more experience' this time.

'I know myself so much better. I obviously know this track in Cortina so well,' she said in January. 'This is just a totally different ballgame, and I'm so excited to participate and represent our country one more time.'

Disaster Strikes On The Olympia Delle Tofane

On Sunday, Vonn encountered an accident while on the Olympia delle Tofane course. Although she was familiar with the track, just 12 seconds into her run, she appeared to clip a gate with her right ski pole. It jerked off her balance at high speed, and the next sight shocked the audience as she lay motionless on the snow.

The impact was violent, with Vonn slamming her body into the snow and hitting her head. She was heard screaming in pain and was unable to remove her skis.

A helicopter was immediately seen in the area. The medical team stabilised her, and Vonn left the competition, airlifted for an emergency evacuation.

Medical Updates

Vonn suffered from a broken leg from the accident. She was taken into a local clinic before being transferred to a bigger hospital in Treviso.

She underwent an emergency surgery to fix her fractured left leg. The athlete is already in stable condition, and her team is hopeful about her recovery.

The US Ski team confirmed in a statement that she 'sustained an injury' but was 'in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.'

'She'll be OK, but it's going to be a bit of a process,' said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for the US Ski and Snowboard. 'This sport's brutal and people need to remember when they're watching (that) these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.'

'I've Always Gotten Back Up'

Before the incident, the skiing legend discussed her previous crash and her mindset for competing at the Olympics despite her injury. Vonn was very optimistic, and from the look of it, the 2026 Winter Olympics might not be her last, so long as she's still cleared to compete.

'As many times as I crash, I've always gotten back up. As many times as I've failed, I've always won,' she said on 3 February. 'So actually, all of my experience in my life has given me a lot of confidence in knowing what my body can and cannot do.'