Lindsey Vonn has reflected on what was a whirlwind 2016 for her, featuring several laurels, records, as well as gruesome injuries. The legendary alpine ski racer had a serious crash in Andorra in February 2016, but returned to compete the next day.
Lindsey Vonn Looks Back On Gruesome 2016 Crash
Vonn is regarded as one of the best skiers of all time, with 84 World Cup wins. In her storied career, the 41-year-old has shown great resilience and tenacity time and time again.
In an Instagram post, Vonn reflected on her eventful 2016, which saw her earn several big wins and break numerous records. The Minnesota native also suffered a crash at a Super G event in Andorra, due to which she had to get her knee drained.
Vonn shared further insight on her Instagram story and wrote about how they had to drain two full miles of blood from her tibia plateau fracture. Despite the crash and injury, Vonn stood back up and raced the very next day.
Not only that, she returned the next day to win the combined Super G and finish 13th overall. But the injury proved to be more serious than initially thought, and she was ultimately forced to end her season early.
Vonn wrote on her Instagram, “Drained 2x full files of blood from my tibia plateau fracture. Did I race the next day? 1000% I did!”
Meanwhile, Vonn is currently preparing to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place in Milan and Cortina next month.
Vonn Excited Ahead of 2026 Olympics, Eyes Medal in Final Downhill Run
Vonn recently spoke about how much qualifying for the Olympic Games means to her, calling it an “amazing feeling”. The veteran skier is set to call time on her career after the 2026 Winter Olympics, and will have her sights set on bowing out with a medal.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Vonn will compete in the Downhill discipline for Team USA. After initially retiring in 2019, she returned to skiing in November 2024 with the aim of competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics. She heads to Italy in incredible form, with some impressive recent wins under her belt.
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“I’m definitely very excited with how things are going. It’s been a pretty great couple weeks. I feel like finally everything is working for me, with me, my equipment, my team, physically, everything is going in the right direction. That’s an amazing feeling,” Vonn said via the New York Times.
Vonn has three Olympic medals to her name. She won gold in the Downhill and bronze in the Super G at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and also claimed bronze in the Downhill at the 2018 Games.