Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy– Lindsey Vonn, who was racing on a badly injured left knee, crashed early on the Olympic downhill on Sunday and was taken off the track by helicopter after the 41-year-old American received medical attention on the snow for long, agonizing minutes.
Vaughn lost control of the opening track after the line snapped too tightly and he was spun in the air. She was heard screaming after the accident while surrounded by medical personnel before being strapped onto a stretcher and taken away by helicopter, potentially ending the skater’s career. Her condition was not immediately known, and the US Ski Team said she would be evaluated.
Racing was suspended as she received treatment. Vonn’s teammate, Breezy Johnson, took the early lead.
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared at the ground as his daughter received treatment just 13 seconds into the session. Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the track she knows so well and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
All eyes were on Vonn, the colorful story heading into the Olympics. She returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years, a great decision considering her age, but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement on her right knee. Many wondered how she was doing as she sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill race at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The four-time World Cup champion impressed everyone by being competitive almost immediately. She came into the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings and was the favorite to win gold before crashing in Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered a final knee injury. In addition to the torn ACL, she also suffered a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
However, no one had calculated it until then. In fact, she skated despite injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, before the Turin Olympics, Vonn had a bad fall while training on the slopes and went to the hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing all four of her planned events, and had a top finish of 7th in the super-G.
“It’s definitely weird, going from the hospital bed to the starting gate,” she said at the time.
The Cortina has always had many fond memories for Vaughn beyond record victories. Dubbed the Queen of Cortina, the Olympia delle Tofana was always a good fit for Faun. She had tested her knee twice in downhill training over the past three days before the horrific accident on Sunday in sunny, clear conditions.
“This will be the best comeback I’ve made yet,” Vonn said before the race. “Definitely the most dramatic.”
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