Lindsey Vonn is grappling with a profound physical and emotional recovery following her terrifying crash at the Winter Olympics, leaving the future of her illustrious skiing career hanging in the balance.
For now, the formidable decisions about her return to the slopes remain on hold.
The 41-year-old athlete has endured eight surgeries after suffering a complex left leg fracture during the women’s downhill skiing race on 8 February – an injury so severe it nearly necessitated an amputation. She faces at least one more operation to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the same knee.
Should Vonn decide to race again – a decision she is not yet prepared to make – a return to competition would be at least a year and a half away, she told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday.
“I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions or even speculate on what I might do,” Vonn stated. “I may retire. I may never race again and that would be completely fine, but I’m not in a position emotionally to make that decision at this point.”
Vonn believes she might have considered retirement had she been able to complete a comeback season that rivaled her career best.
She had ended a six-year absence from the sport primarily to compete at Cortina, Italy, a favored course and the future venue for the Milan Cortina Games.
The winner of three Olympic medals, including a downhill gold in 2010, crashed just 13 seconds into the race. The incident, which resulted in a complex tibia fracture, shocked a star-studded crowd and prematurely ended a season where she had led the World Cup downhill standings, never finishing worse than fourth in any race.
While Vonn has a history of returning from various injuries – including a titanium implant in her right knee – she describes this latest setback as fundamentally different. The pain, she explains, is unlike anything she has experienced before. The eight surgeries for this single injury are just one shy of the total she underwent for all her previous injuries combined.
“It’s a much different injury in that way, again, like the severity of the injury and understanding that I could have lost my leg and how bad things were,” Vonn said. “I can deal with a lot of pain, but this was so extreme. It’s not even been in the universe of pain with this injury as what I’ve had before.”
Vonn is making progress in her rehabilitation, both in and out of the gym, though not as swiftly as she would prefer. She has transitioned from a wheelchair to crutches – a mode of mobility she finds tiresome – and is expected to begin walking short distances next week.
Beyond her physical recovery, Vonn is also able to travel again, having recently visited New York to discuss her support for biopharmaceutical company Invivyd’s “Antibodies for Any Body” campaign. A holiday is also on the horizon.
However, the path ahead for her skiing career remains unclear. Vonn has not yet discussed a potential return to skiing with her doctor, preferring to focus on the current phase of her recovery.
“Regardless, nothing would really happen until ’27-28 because I still have one more surgery left to take out the metal and to replace my ACL. That still needs to happen,” Vonn explained. “Once I get my ACL fixed, then that’s another six months, so I have at least I would say a year and a half ahead of me before I could really be back to 100%, even just training in the gym.”
Vonn acknowledges the inherent risks of a return, and her family has expressed concerns. Her father, while she was still in hospital the day after her crash, suggested her career should be over.
Vonn, however, remains defiant: “He means the best. He forgot the cardinal rule with me is that if you don’t want me to do something, you shouldn’t tell me I can’t. Tell me I can’t and I’ll prove you wrong.”
She has never shied away from taking chances, even competing in the Olympics just over a week after tearing her ACL in the past.
“Downhill skiing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and that’s a risk that I’ve always taken happily, and this is the result, and I don’t regret it,” said Vonn, who confirmed she had done everything possible to prepare for the race. “I don’t want a do-over.”
Ultimately, Vonn will decide if she wants to race again. For now, her primary focus is on restoring her leg to full health. Only then can she begin to contemplate a career that may or may not be over.
“I’m still, like I said, in survival mode that I just want to get through this phase and be able to assess where I am in my life,” said Vonn, whose 84 World Cup wins place her second among women, trailing only teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (110). “And take count of what I’ve done and take count of what could be and make decisions in a much better place than where I am now.
“I don’t want to make a decision now because I think that would be rash and probably too emotional and I don’t want to make a mistake, you know?”
