‘No regrets’: Vonn requires ‘multiple surgeries’ but says ACL had nothing to do with crash

Livigno: American skier Lindsey Vonn says her ACL rupture had nothing to do with her crash in the downhill event and confirmed she would require “multiple surgeries” after fracturing her tibia.

Vonn, who ruptured her ACL nine days before taking to the course for the women’s final in Cortina, was airlifted from Sunday’s event following a nasty crash after she clipped a gate and went tumbling down the course at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

More than 24 hours after Vonn underwent an initial surgery, the 41-year-old Olympic champion gave an update on her condition to fans on social media.

“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a storybook ending or a fairytale, it was just life,” she said.

“I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as five inches.

“I was simply five inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

Vonn lay motionless on the snow for 15 minutes and could be heard crying in pain before she was taken away by helicopter.

She underwent surgery on Sunday night (local time), but said she would need multiple surgeries to repair the damage.

“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly,” she said.

“While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.

“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try.

“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.”

Sunday was a devastating end to Vonn’s Olympic campaign, after she returned to elite competition after almost six years in retirement and two years after the insertion of a titanium replacement in her right knee.

“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly,” Vonn said.

“Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying.

“I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”

The Winter Olympic Games will be broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.

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