Lindsey Vonn says surgery saved her leg from amputation after Olympics accident

American skier Lindsey Vonnwhich crashed seconds into its downhill run on the Winter Olympics 2026said Monday that the surgery saved his leg from amputation and that he is finally out of the hospital as he continues to recover.

“I’m finally well enough to move into a hotel. I’m not home yet, but it’s a big step!” she posted on Instagram.

In a video message describing her injuries, Vonn credited her surgeon, Dr. Tom Hackett, with saving her leg from amputation and said he performed a fasciectomy, a surgery that “filtered” her leg.

Vonn said he had a complex tibia fracture and other fractures, and that “everything was in pieces.” He also had compartment syndrome, which the Cleveland Clinic describes as a painful buildup of pressure around muscles that can cause permanent damage.

He also said he broke his right ankle, received a blood transfusion and was in a wheelchair.

“It’s been quite a journey and by far the most extreme, painful and challenging injury I’ve ever faced in my entire life, times 100,” he said.

He said he spent nearly two weeks in a hospital and was “almost completely immobile.”

“I will now focus on rehab and moving from a wheelchair to crutches in a few weeks,” he wrote. “It will take about a year for all the bones to heal and then I will decide if I want to take out all the metal or not, and then I will go back to surgery and finally fix my ACL.”

The 41-year-old American, who lives in Colorado, decided to compete in the Olympics despite tearing her left ACL in an earlier accident during a World Cup event in the Swiss Alps. He lost control in his Olympic career after he appeared to clip a flag marking the side of the track, flew sideways in the air and hit his 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.

He said he has no regrets and would “rather go down swinging than not try at all.”