Lindsey Vonn undergoes surgery for broken leg after accident at 2026 Winter Olympics

American skier Lindsey Vonn He crashed seconds into his Olympic downhill race on Sunday after he decided to compete despite tearing his left ACL in an earlier crash during a World Cup event in the Swiss Alps a week ago. She is said to be in stable condition after undergoing surgery for a broken leg.

The 41-year-old American, who came out of retirement to compete in the Winter Olympics 2026previously confirmed that she had completely torn her ACL, but said she felt confident she could complete the race with the help of a knee brace.

Seconds into the race, Vonn lost control after she appeared to clip a flag marking the side of the course, flew sideways in the air and hit her head on the ground. She responded but did not get up. The medical staff loaded her onto a stretcher and took her off the field by plane.

“Vonn’s right ski pole caught on a door, causing her to lose balance and control,” the US team said in a statement.

After the accident, Vonn was heard screaming that she couldn’t get her skis off. She was taken to a clinic in Cortina and then transferred to a larger hospital in Treviso, a two-hour drive south, the News reported.

Vonn was being “treated by a multidisciplinary team” and “underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a reported fracture in her left leg,” Ca’ Foncello hospital said in a statement.

The US ski team said he had “suffered an injury” but was “in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian doctors.”

“She will be fine, but it will be a process,” said Anouk Patty, head of sports for US Ski and Snowboard. “This sport is brutal and people need to remember when they watch it that these athletes are hurtling down the mountain and going very, very fast.”

Vonn had family members in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who was looking at the ground as his daughter was tended to. Others in the crowd, including Snoop Dogg, watched in silence as the star skier was finally led off the course where she had so many fond memories.

Thomas Pronske of Austin, Texas, who was watching the event on the sidelines, told News themezone after the accident: “I hope she’s okay. She didn’t look good. We saw her fall quite a bit and I’m praying and wishing the best for her… She was one of the main reasons I was here. It’s just a remarkable story of her coming back, of her overcoming adversity… I tore my ACL myself, I know it’s a painful injury… and again I hope she’s okay.”

Maria Pronske, Thomas’ mother, who said Vonn inspired her so much that she had come to see the event with an injured knee on her birthday, told News themezone that she “felt really bad about her knee… Poor thing. I feel so sorry for her. I’m praying for her too.”

Crista Kosher, cousin of Jacqueline Wiles, another Team USA skier who placed fourth in Sunday’s race, said it was “absolutely devastating to see her teammate being lifted off the hill.”

“Lindsay and Jacqueline have been competing together for years and years and years, and they definitely have a mentor-mentee relationship, and watching your friend go down is really challenging for everyone, but we wish the best for Lindsay and her recovery,” Kosher said.

Charles Christianson, a retired former ski racer from Park City, Utah, said the accident was “absolutely heartbreaking.”

“Everyone is here to cheer on the entire American team and especially celebrate Lindsay’s incredible career. This is absolutely heartbreaking, but true to form, Lindsay wouldn’t have it any other way,” Christianson said. “She knew the risks. Ski racers always take them and you saw the determination when she walked out the door. She was charging. She never had a doubt about what she was going to do and it would be a podium or a failure and that goes both ways. So again, the respect from the crowd and from everyone here shows how important she has been to the sport. We’ll have to see what happens. We wish her the best. But just a punch in the gut.”

Before Sunday’s race, a Team USA official had said their biggest fear was that Vonn would suffer a serious accident during the race. Given all the attention on her and her inspiring story, the image of her being flown off the course during the race was the worst case scenario.

Before her retirement in 2019, Vonn had competed with a torn lateral collateral ligament, three tibia fractures and a bone bruise, and still won a bronze medal. He now has a titanium knee, although that is not the joint that is currently injured.

“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey that some didn’t believe in from the beginning,” Vonn said in a social media post Saturday night. “I retired for 6 years and, due to a partial knee replacement, I had the opportunity to compete once again. But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple… I love ski racing.

“I’m not insecure about life outside of sport. I’m not looking for meaning or attention or money. I know exactly who I am and I know exactly what I’m made of,” she said.

Vonn had recorded the third-fastest time in a training run on Saturday before the race, behind teammate Breezy Johnson, although the race was canceled due to bad weather before all runners had participated.

“I think it’s a good streak,” Vonn coach Aksel Lund Svindal said. “Tomorrow is the race and it’s the Olympics and the girls are going to try harder. So they’ll probably all go faster, which means Lindsey would need to go faster too. But it’s a solid race, but I think it’s one more gear.”

on sunday, Johnson won gold after taking the lead, flying around the iconic Olympia delle Tofana circuit on a sunny day in Cortina in 1:36.10. Emma Aicher from Germany and Sofia Goggia from Italy completed the podium.

“My heart goes out to her. I hope it’s not as bad as it seemed,” Johnson said after Vonn’s accident. “I know how hard it is to ski this slope and how sometimes, because you love this slope so much, when you hit it and it hurts like that, it hurts a lot more. So, yeah, my heart goes out to her.”