Lindsey Vonn undergoes surgery for broken leg after heavy fall during Olympic race
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Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery “to stabilize a reported fracture in her left leg,” officials at an Italian hospital said Sunday hours after the Olympic athlete crashed badly during her race.
Vonn overcame a torn ACL to try to win a medal in the women’s downhill alpine skiing event. He lost control a few seconds after running and crashed in the first sector. She writhed in pain as medical professionals tended to her.
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In this image taken from video provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services, Lindsey Vonn falls after crashing during a women’s alpine ski race at the Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Olympic broadcast services via AP)
A helicopter was sent to get Vonn off the mountain. She was taken to a clinic in Cortina and then transferred to a hospital in Treviso.
Ca’Foncello Hospital issued a statement about Vonn, saying she was being “treated by a multidisciplinary team.” The US Ski Team said Vonn was “in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian doctors.”
“She’ll be fine, but it’ll be a process,” said Anouk Patty, head of US Ski and Snowboard Sports. “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.”
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Lindsey Vonn is airlifted after an accident at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Breezy Johnson collected the gold medal in the event, capturing the first gold medal for Team USA at the Milan 2026 Cortina Games.
“I don’t pretend to know what you’re going through, but I do know what it’s like to be here, fighting for the Olympics, having this course burn you out and watching those dreams die,” said Johnson, who missed the 2022 Games due to a knee injury. “I can’t imagine the pain he’s going through and it’s not physical pain; we can deal with physical pain, but emotional pain is something else.”
International Ski and Snowboard Federation president Johan Eliasch called Vonn’s accident “tragic, but it’s ski racing.”
In this image taken from video provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services, Lindsey Vonn prepares for evacuation after crashing at the Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Olympic broadcast services via AP)
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“I can only thank you for what you’ve done for our sport,” he said, “because this race has been the talk of the games and has put our sport in the best possible light.”
The News contributed to this report.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor at News Digital.