LIVIGNO: Legendary American skier Lindsey Vonn has confirmed she completely ruptured her ACL in a crash four days ago but will still compete at Milano Cortina 2026 in a courageous effort to add another against all-odds chapter to an extraordinary career.
Speaking to a packed press conference room on Wednesday morning (AEDT) Vonn said she was "confident" of being able to compete at a high level in a knee brace, adding that she was not in pain and that the knee was "stable".
"My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday (local time)," Vonn said.
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"So this is not obviously what I had hoped for. I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today but I know there's still a chance. And as long as there's a chance, I will try.
"I will do everything in my power to be in the starting gate."
Vonn, 41, was competing in the downhill race at the World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland last week when she lost control while landing a jump, sliding straight into the surrounding safety nets on the course.
Vonn was tangled in the nets and required assistance from officials to get out, but she did manage to steady herself using her poles and skied slowly to the finish.
She was then airlifted to hospital in a helicopter.
Vonn has made a habit of skiing through serious injuries and, despite her veteran status, can recall only one Olympic Games where she competed at 100 per cent fitness.
She had to go all the way back to 2002, when she was 17, to nominate a Games at which she wasn't battling a significant injury.
Vonn was forced to withdraw from the 2014 Winter Olympics due to another serious knee injury. Having won downhill gold at Vancouver 2010, Vonn was dominant in 2011 and 2012 but a nightmare 2013 in which she had a slow start to the season due to illness and then ruptured her ACL in a crash derailed her hopes of defending her crown in 2014.
She recovered to add a bronze to her medal tally at the 2018 Games, then retired for the first time in 2019 with a busted body but having sealed her legacy as one of the most decorated downhill skiers of all-time.
Her comeback to the professional circuit in December 2024 was one of the biggest stories in world sport at the time, but she says skiing without an ACL in Italy in the coming days would surpass that.
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"This would be the best comeback I've done so far," Vonn said. "Definitely the most dramatic."
Vonn already skis with a partial titanium in her right knee and confirmed she would now likely have to have a similar procedure done for her left knee. For now, that will have to wait, with the American focusing all her energy on getting to the finish line at this Olympic Games.
Women's skiing during the Games will be in Cortina, where Vonn holds the World Cup record with 12 wins.
Vonn has won three Olympic medals: Gold in downhill and bronze in super-G in 2010 and bronze in downhill in 2018.
– with AP
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