Lindsey Vonn won't rule out return to Alpine skiing after Winter Olympics crash and surgeries that saved her leg - 'I don't like to close the door'
Published 26/03/2026 at 20:12 GMT
Lindsey Vonn crashing out of the women's downhill was one of the most dramatic moments of last month's Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Despite the crash and subsequent surgeries that saved her leg, Vonn will not rule out a return to Alpine skiing. In a stellar career, American icon Vonn won Olympic downhill gold in 2010 and a host of World Championship titles.
Watch: Vonn suffers big crash to end downhill hopes
Video credit: TNT Sports
Lindsey Vonn is not ruling out a return to skiing despite her terrible crash at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics which resulted in a complex leg break requiring multiple surgeries.
In one of the most dramatic moments of the Games, Vonn - who ruptured her ACL a week before the Games - crashed out near the start of the women's downhill.
She suffered a compound fracture of her left leg, with the American recently saying the surgeries saved her leg from being amputated.
Vonn, 41, also needed a blood transfusion because of the amount of blood lost during the surgeries.
Despite those experiences, the indefatigable Vonn is refusing to say her time in skiing is up.
"I don’t like to close the door on anything because you just never know what’s going to happen," Vonn told Vanity Fair.
"It’s hard to tell with this injury. It’s so f****d up."
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Vonn went into Olympics 'with her eyes open' to the 'risk' - Johnson
Video credit: TNT Sports
Vonn initially retired in 2019 but announced in 2024 that she would be returning. In December, she became the oldest competitor to win a World Cup downhill event.
But at her fifth Olympics, it all went badly wrong for the American superstar.
"I really feel like that was a horrible last run to end my career on," Vonn added. "I only made it 13 seconds. But they were a really good 13 seconds."
The scenes of Vonn lying in the snow and then being transported away by helicopter cast a shadow over the Games on its opening weekend.
Millions of viewers around the world had tuned in to see if she could claim an unlikely, fairytale success.
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Lindsey Vonn celebrating her finest hour - downhill gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
Image credit: Getty Images
Writing on Instagram after the end of the Winter Olympics last month, Vonn made it clear that she was close to losing her leg.
"Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg - he saved it from being amputated," she said.
"He cut open both sides of my leg, so it was open and let it breathe so to speak. He saved me."
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Whenever Vonn's career does end, it will go down as a spectacular one in the history of Alpine skiing.
She won Olympic downhill gold at the Vancouver Games of 2010, her finest moment in the sport.
Vonn also claimed a host of World Championship titles and World Cup season titles.
Watch the best sporting action live and on-demand - including the Olympic Games - on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
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