Vonn crashes in last race before Winter Games and says ‘My Olympic dream is not over’

By Canadian Press on January 30, 2026.

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Lindsey Vonn crashed and injured her left knee in her final downhill race on Friday before the Olympics and said she hopes to recover in time for the Milan Cortina Games.

“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” the 41-year-old American wrote on Instagram hours after she was airlifted off the course. “My Olympic dream is not over.”

Vonn was the third skier to crash in the World Cup race in Crans-Montana where she lost control while landing a jump and ended up tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course.

She got up after receiving medical attention for about five minutes, seemingly in pain and using her poles to steady herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish line, stopping a couple of times on the way down and clutching her left knee.

“I crashed today in the downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee. I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,” Vonn wrote. “Thank you for all of the love and support. I will give more information when I have it.”

Vonn’s name was on the start list, with a No. 15 bib, for a super-G race on the same hill on Saturday. It was unclear if she will race.

The downhill on Friday began in difficult conditions with low visibility, and was canceled after Vonn’s crash as heavier snow fell.

The American, who was expected to be one of the biggest stars of the Olympics, limped into a tent for medical attention before being airlifted away by helicopter, dangling from a hoist cable with two people attending her.

Before she entered the tent, Vonn had an anxious expression on her face and her eyes were closed during a long embrace with teammate Jacqueline Wiles, who was leading the race when it was canceled.

“I know she hurt her knee, I talked to her,” the International Ski and Snowboard Federation CEO Urs Lehmann told reporters in the finish area. “I don’t know if it’s really heavy and (if) she won’t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait for what the doctors are saying.”

Vonn made a stunning comeback last season at age 40 after nearly six years away from ski racing. Skiing with a partial titanium implant in her right knee, she has been the circuit’s leading downhiller this season with two victories and three other podium finishes in the five races.

Including super-G, Vonn had completed eight World Cup races and finished on the podium in seven of them. Her worst finish was fourth.

The crash occurred exactly a week before the Milan Cortina opening ceremony.

Vonn’s first Olympic race is the women’s downhill on Feb. 8. She was also planning on competing in the super-G and the new team combined event at the Games.

Women’s skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins.

Difficult race conditions

Vonn was the sixth racer in Friday’s downhill and registered the fastest time at the first checkpoint before landing a jump off-balance. She lifted her left arm and pole high into the air in an attempt to regain her balance. As she tried to brake, she got spun around and ended up in the nets.

Two other skiers crashed before her: Nina Ortlieb of Austria and Marte Monsen of Norway.

Ortlieb crashed in the same area as Vonn and Monsen hit the nets just before the finish area and had to be taken away in a sled. The race was delayed after those crashes. But then two racers — Wiles and Corinne Suter, the Olympic champion — completed their runs.

Wiles barely could make the tight final left-hand turn that tricked Monsen.

Romane Miradoli of France, who did complete her run as the second to start, said visibility was an issue with snow falling.

“You can’t see,” Miradoli said, “and it’s bumpy everywhere.”

Asked if it was dangerous, Miradoli added, “We just couldn’t see well.”

Racing after Miradoli, Monsen crashed hard and slid 40 meters (yards) toward the finish line. The Norwegian team said she had no head injuries though “some pain in her knee” and will return home for more tests.

Vonn has had numerous crashes in her career. One of her worst was at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria, during a super-G that was also held in difficult conditions. Vonn tore her right knee. She returned the following season, got hurt again and missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Crans-Montana tributes

The race started on Friday in a subdued mood in Crans-Montana which is coping with the trauma of a devastating fire in a bar in the early hours of New Year’s Day that killed 40 people and injured more than 100. A minute’s silence was observed before racing.

The finish area was stripped of color and the usual sponsor adverts. Instead, it was dressed with white and black banners featuring a ribbon with the words “Our thoughts are with you” written in French, German, Italian and English.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press