Lindsey Vonn’s epic Olympic comeback is in jeopardy after the legendary skier was airlifted after crashing during a World Cup race in Switzerland on Friday.
Vonn said she injured her left knee while competing at the Crans Montana World Cup. Vonn was making a turn when she lost control and crashed. She was able to limp off the course to a medical tent for evaluation before having to be airlifted in a harness.
“I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,” Vonn said Friday. “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 was poised to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, which begin next Friday in Italy. Vonn made a comeback last season after spending nearly six years away from the sport. The Olympic gold medalist is scheduled to compete February 8 in the women’s downhill for her first Olympic event. She is also set to compete in the super-G and the new team combined event.
“My Olympic dream is not over,” Vonn added. “Thank you to all the medical staff who helped me today … it’s not over until it’s over.”
Vonn’s coach told Reuters that the skier was in some pain after the incident.
“She has some pain so it’s better to have some checks, the physio did some checks they seemed ok but there were things he was not 100% sure so it was good to have it checked (at the hospital),” Aksel Lund Svindal said.
The rest of the World Cup race was called off because of the worsening conditions in Switzerland and several crashes on top of Vonn’s accident.
“The main reason is the safety of the athletes,” Women’s World Cup Director Pete Gerdol said after calling off the competition. “The visibility was getting worse and worse, they couldn’t see the race line properly and it caused mistakes. We saw six athletes starting and all six had some mistakes. This was a sign that it was a high-risk situation. We know that our sport is a risky sport, but the feeling was too much risk. That’s why the Jury decided to stop the race.”
Before Friday’s injury, Vonn was having a successful 2025-2026 campaign on the slopes. In December, she won her first skiing World Cup since her comeback. Her last title before that was in 2018, but she didn’t have to wait long at all to find the top spot again. Earlier in January, Vonn won another World Cup in Austria, bringing her total World Cup victories to 84.
The accolades mounting during her comeback tour are why Vonn was a strong favorite heading into this year’s games. If she is able to recover for the Olympics, it will have to be speedy. The practice runs for the downhill start Wednesday.
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