US’ Lindsey Vonn reacts after crashing as she competes in the women’s downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images
“If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback.” So said Lindsey Vonn in an Instagram update after she crashed in a World Cup downhill race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday.
Vonn injured her left knee and was airlifted off the course following the crash, which happened in the final downhill race before the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics get underway next week.
The 41-year-old was the third skier to crash in deteriorating conditions with poor visibility. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb and Norway’s Marte Monsen also lost control on the course, with Ortlieb crashing in the same area as Vonn. Monsen, who left the course in a sled, went into the nets just before the finish area.
Ultimately, organizers canceled the race.
After receiving medical attention on the course, Vonn was reportedly in visible pain and used her poles to support herself, stopping periodically to clutch her left knee. It is not the same knee on which Vonn had a partial knee replacement surgery in April 2024, which was so successful at alleviating longtime pain that it allowed her to come out of retirement ahead of the 2024-25 season.
So far this season, Vonn, who has two Olympic medals in downhill (gold and bronze) and a bronze in super-G, has had two wins and three podium finishes in five downhill races. Vonn has also competed in three super-G races this season, making the podium in two of them.
But Vonn’s stated goal since returning to competition has always been to compete in her fifth Olympics, with Cortina d’Ampezzo holding a special place in her career and heart.
She qualified for the U.S. team in December 2025, shortly after making history as the oldest World Cup race winner when she won her first downhill World Cup event since her return from retirement in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on December 12.
On Instagram, Vonn shared that she is discussing the situation with her doctors and team and will undergo further exams to determine whether she can still compete at the Games, where she was set to race in downhill and super-G.
As she alluded to on Instagram, however, Vonn has had numerous comebacks following injury throughout her career.
She injured her right knee and had to be airlifted off the course following a crash in super-G at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria. Then, she retore the surgically repaired ACL in November 2013 and sprained her MCL the following month, ultimately pulling out of the Sochi 2014 Games to have surgery.
It was the only Games Vonn would miss between Salt Lake City 2002 and Pyeongchang 2018, before retiring in 2020. What she has done since to qualify for her fifth Games after four years in retirement is nothing short of remarkable.
“My Olympic dream is not over,” Vonn wrote.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony will take place in one week, on Friday, February 6. Lindsey Vonn was scheduled to race in the women’s downhill on Sunday, February 8, and the women’s super-G on Thursday, February 12, at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina. Training sessions are planned from Wednesday, February 4 to Sunday, February 7.