Lindsey Vonn suffered complicated fracture in Olympic downhill : NPR

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Screengrab by IOC through Getty Photos/Getty Photos CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — The 41-year-old Crew USA star Lindsey Vonn suffered a "complicated tibia fracture" when she crashed within the Olympic downhill race on Sunday, the skier stated on Instagram in her first public assertion because the race.

Vonn was airlifted by helicopter from the course Sunday and transported to a hospital in Treviso, some two hours from Cortina, to obtain preliminary remedy to stabilize the fracture in her left leg, the hospital informed NPR. A number of extra surgical procedures can be wanted to "repair [her leg] correctly," Vonn stated.

"In Downhill ski racing the distinction between a strategic line and a catastrophic damage may be as small as 5 inches," she wrote, posting late Monday evening native time in Italy, about 35 hours after her crash. "Whereas yesterday didn't finish the way in which I had hoped, and regardless of the extreme bodily ache it brought on, I've no regrets."

Vonn didn't say whether or not she would retire from snowboarding upon restoration.

She was competing within the Olympic race on Sunday regardless of a tear to her left anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, suffered simply eight days earlier than the race.

Her crash got here simply 13 seconds into the race. As she handed by a race gate, her proper arm caught on the gate and spun her into the air. She landed arduous on the snow and bounced down the slope earlier than coming to a relaxation on her again. As medical crews rushed to her assist, she might be heard screaming in ache.

On Monday, she stated the ACL tear had not contributed to her crash. "I used to be merely 5 inches too tight on my line when my proper arm hooked inside the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash," she wrote. "My ACL and previous accidents had nothing to do with my crash in any way."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8256x5504+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe6%2F1f%2F30ab8c764145b63a0eabd33d6132%2Fgettyimages-2260154047.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8256x5504+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe6%2F1f%2F30ab8c764145b63a0eabd33d6132%2Fgettyimages-2260154047.jpg" class="img" alt="Tthe entrance of the Ca' Foncello Hospital in Treviso, near Venice, Italy where U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn is being treated after she crashed during Women's Olympic Downhill Sunday." loading="lazy"/> Tthe entrance of the Ca' Foncello Hospital in Treviso, close to Venice, Italy the place U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn is being handled after she crashed throughout Girls's Olympic Downhill Sunday. Andrea Pattaro/AFP through Getty Photos conceal caption

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Andrea Pattaro/AFP through Getty Photos Vonn initially retired from ski racing in 2019 after a collection of accidents to her knees left her satisfied she was unable to securely proceed to compete.

However a partial knee substitute that positioned a titanium implant into her proper knee in 2024 allowed her to start coaching once more in earnest. Remarkably, she returned swiftly to the highest of the World Cup downhill standings. This winter, she had received two World Cup races and reached the rostrum in 5 others earlier than she tore her ACL.

The audacity and willpower of her determination to compete within the Olympics regardless of her torn ACL had riveted onlookers, each skeptics and believers alike. Within the days earlier than the race, Vonn efficiently accomplished two coaching runs on Cortina's Olimpia delle Tofane course, turning the race into essentially the most anticipated occasion of the Olympics.

"Standing within the beginning gate yesterday was an unimaginable feeling that I'll always remember. Understanding I stood there having an opportunity to win was a victory in and of itself," she stated.