The Winter Olympics delivered plenty of drama on Sunday after American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn suffered a leg fracture after crashing hard in the downhill event.
Vonn underwent surgery on Sunday after being airlifted from the slopes and is in a “stable” condition. The 41-year-old suffered the painful fall in Cortina, ensuring no comeback from a brutal left knee injury just days out from the Games at Milano-Cortina.
The former gold medal winner announced her intention to compete at the Games despite retiring in 2019. Nine days before the Olympics began, Vonn ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a race at Crans-Montana which cast doubt over whether she should compete.
Her crash came on the top section of the course having overshot a turn and losing balance before her already injured leg gave way. Vonn had been expected to enter the super-G and Alpine combined events but the extent of her most recent injury means her Olympics are over.
Follow all the latest updates from Milano-Cortina 2026 in our live blog below:
Italian ski legend claims Lindsey Vonn made critical mistake before injury disaster
But Italian ski great Alberto Tomba insists her downfall on the slopes came after a move to race at Crans-Montana last month.
The American has been criticised over her desire to win one more race, with Tomba insisting it led to a chain of risks that eventually caught up with her in the form of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee.
Winter Olympics 2026 schedule and day-by-day events – Day 3
Day 3 (Monday 9 February 2026) – 5 gold medal events
Alpine skiing
- 1pm–2.20pm: Men’s team combined (slalom) 🏅
- 5.05pm–7.05pm: Mixed doubles semi-finals
Figure skating
- 6.20pm–9.55pm: Ice dance rhythm dance
Ice hockey
- 3.40pm–6.10pm: Women’s preliminary round
- 7.10pm–9.40pm: Women’s preliminary round
- 8.10pm–10.40pm: Women’s preliminary round
- 4pm–6.20pm: Women’s singles runs 1 and 2
Ski jumping
- 6pm–8.15pm: Men’s normal hill individual 🏅
Snowboarding
- 6.30pm–8.05pm: Women’s snowboard big air final 🏅
Speed skating
- 4.30pm–6.05pm: Women’s 1000m 🏅
Lindsey Vonn undergoes surgery on leg fracture after horror crash in Winter Olympics downhill
The 41-year-old was the 13th of 36 racers to take to the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where she has won a record 12 World Cups.
But she crashed hard in the top section of the course at approximately 60mph after overshooting a turn and catching her shoulder on the fourth gate, having already picked up significant speed. That set her off balance, with her injured left leg – which has no functioning ACL – giving way.
GB skier Gus Kenworthy reveals ‘awful’ abuse he’s received after calling out ‘absolutely evil’ ICE
British freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy has spoken out about the “awful” abuse and vitriol he has received since posting a photo about his stance on the United States’ immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) policy.
In a post on his Instagram account, Kenworthy – who was born in Chelmsford but has lived in the US for most of his life – expressed his views on ICE with a graphic message in the snow and posted it online.
The 34-year-old has since released a video post explaining his reasoning behind the message and how he has been sent “insane” responses for speaking out against ICE.
Muir ‘in a hole’ after fourth-placed finish
Britain’s Kirsty Muir struggles to hold back the tears as she digests her fourth-placed finish in the women’s slopestyle final.
“I’ll be proud of myself in a minute, I’m just in a bit of a hole at the moment but I’ll get out of there. I’ve still got the big air to come.”
Gremaud in tears as she receives gold
Mathilde Gremaud receives her gold medal as the Swiss flag is raised, and she bursts into tears. China’s Eileen Gu and Canada’s Megan Oldham are there to console and embrace the champion.
Vonn required two operations on broken leg
US skier Lindsey Vonn needed two operations on the broken leg suffered in her crash yesterday, reports Reuters.
The procedures “were intended to prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow”, according to the report.
It had earlier been confirmed by the hospital in Treviso that Vonn underwent an operation to stabilise her left leg after the incident.
Winter Olympics 2026 medal table: Who is the leading the standings at Milan-Cortina?
The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway in northern Italy as Milan-Cortina plays host to the century-old sporting event.
Norway are historically the most successful nation in the Winter Games and the Norwegians are once again favourites to top the medal table, having claimed 16 golds in Beijing four years ago, four more than second-placed Germany.
The USA are expected to put up a strong challenge to Norway’s dominance, while Germany and Canada are also expected to enjoy plenty of success. Host nation Italy are also hopeful of a top-10 finish in the standings, as are their Alpine neighbours France and Switzerland.
Gremaud wins gold in women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle
So, Mathilde Gremaud wins gold with 86.96, while China’s Eileen Gu finishes with silver after a score of 86.58 and Canada’s Megan Oldham takes bronze with 76.46.
Kirsty Muir misses out on a medal by a score of 0.41 in the end!
Gremaud wins gold!
Eileen Gu makes a mistake early on into her final run and that will settle it! Mathilde Gremaud will take home another gold medal in this!
The Swiss skier is a back-to-back Olympic champion in the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle finals!
Nothing too brave on the final run as she reaches the end absolutely delighted!
