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From the streets of Milan to the mountain peaks of Cortina d’Ampezzo, everyone seemed to be talking about one Olympian. The International Olympic Committee took the rare step of shifting its morning news briefing ahead a half-hour just so everyone could watch her race; Snoop Dogg was at the course so he could see her in person.
Lindsey Vonn, the 41-year-old American ski racing legend, was mounting an improbable return from a serious knee injury. She stood at the starting gate with an injured ligament in her knee – she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament only a week earlier – and glared down at the Olympia delle Tofane slope. And seconds later, it was over in a flourish of snow and gasps from the crowd.
What happened to Lindsey Vonn?
Fewer than a dozen seconds into her run in the women’s downhill on Sunday, Vonn clipped a gate near the top of the course. It threw her off-balance and sent her careening down the hill with no control. She slammed hard on the icy surface.
Medical personnel rushed to her side as the crowd below followed on the video screens. Vonn was placed in a secure stretcher, hoisted into the air by a helicopter crew, then flown toward a hospital in Northern Italy.
According to a report from Reuters, Vonn was taken to Ca’ Foncello Hospital, in Treviso, which is a two-hour drive south of the course. The wire service quoted a statement from the hospital: “She underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilise the fracture sustained in her left leg.”
Reuters cited an unnamed source saying Vonn was being kept in intensive care, but for privacy purposes, and not because her life was in any danger.
Reuters connected with the helicopter crew, who conducted the rescue on a clear day, with blue skies. The pilot told the wire service the mission went smoothly, and that their flight to Treviso took about 30 minutes.
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“It’s all about coordinating movements and the helicopter’s positioning to reach the target in the most accurate way possible,” winch technician Annalisa Raffin told Reuters. “Once we reached the athlete, she was secured to the winch, recovered and transported back to the medical base.”
What was the reaction?
At the foot of the mountain, spectators gasped in horror and covered their mouths. As Jonny Wakefield reported for Postmedia: “Seconds dragged into minutes as ski patrol, then a yellow medic helicopter, tended to the injured athlete. Those farther up the mountain heard screams.”
“I don’t claim to know what she’s going through, but I do know what it’s like to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics and to have this course burn you and to watch those dreams die,” said American teammate Breezy Johnson, who won gold once the racing resumed.
“It was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. I can’t imagine the pain she’s going through, and it’s not the physical pain. We can deal with the physical pain. But the emotional pain is something else. I wish her the best and I hope this isn’t the end.”
Fellow American Jacqueline Wiles, who finished fourth, acknowledged downhill racers learn to live with the inherent risk in their sport.
“We have such a sisterhood,” she said. “We travel with each other on the road. We’re a family. To watch someone that you care about so much, it sucks. My heart broke for her in that moment.”
What makes Vonn such a star?
She is one of the most accomplished athletes in her sport. Vonn has 84 World Cup victories on her resume. At the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, she became the first American woman to win gold in an Olympic downhill event.
Vonn retired in 2019, at the age of 34, after battling a series of injuries. She returned to action two years ago. She tore the ligament in her left knee in Switzerland a week before competing at the Milan-Cortina Games.
“She deserved a better ending than that, so I’m very heartbroken for her,” said U.S. teammate Isabella Wright, who finished 21st on Sunday. “I always say this, ‘If anyone can do it, it’s Lindsey’. Whatever it is, or whatever the situation, she’s very strong. We’re going to support her the best we can.”
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