Cristiano Ronaldo sends special message to Lindsey Vonn
American skier is recovering from a surgery after horror fall at Winter Olympics
Dubai: Cristiano Ronaldo shared a heartfelt message for Lindsey Vonn after the American skiing icon was released from hospital following her terrifying crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The decorated alpine legend suffered a devastating fall just seconds into her opening downhill run, crashing only 13 seconds after leaving the start gate and requiring an airlift to hospital.
Ronaldo later wrote on social media: “Champions are defined by the moments they win, and the moments they refuse to give up. @lindseyvonn the mountains you conquered were never bigger than the strength you carry. Keep fighting. Legends always rise.”
Vonn later revealed she nearly lost her left leg as a result of the crash during the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.
In a social media update on Monday, the 41-year-old explained that her injuries extended well beyond the complex tibia fracture she initially disclosed after clipping a gate and veering off course on February 8.
Dangerous condition
The impact caused compartment syndrome in her left leg — a dangerous condition in which pressure builds up within the muscle due to bleeding or swelling, restricting blood flow and potentially leading to permanent damage if not treated immediately.
“When you have so much trauma to one area of your body so that there’s too much blood and it gets stuck and it basically crushes everything,” Vonn said.
She credited orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Tom Hackett, who works with her and Team USA, for performing an emergency fasciotomy that ultimately saved her leg.
“He filleted it open (and) let it breathe, and he saved me,” she said.
Hackett was in Cortina only because Vonn had torn the ACL in her left knee shortly before the Olympics and was already under medical supervision.
“If I hadn’t had done that, Tom wouldn’t have been there (and he) wouldn’t have been able to save my leg,” she said.
Multiple surgeries
In addition to the severe damage to her left leg, Vonn also fractured her right ankle in the crash. After a weeklong stay at a hospital in Treviso, Italy, during which she underwent multiple surgeries, she praised both Hackett and the Italian medical team for reconstructing a leg she described as being “in pieces.”
“It has been quite the journey and by far the most extreme and painful and challenging injury I’ve ever faced in my entire life times 100,” she said.
Vonn revealed she struggled with significant pain and blood loss immediately after the accident and required a transfusion to restore her haemoglobin levels.
Currently “very much immobile” and using a wheelchair, she has begun focusing on rehabilitation and hopes to transition to crutches soon. She estimates it will take about a year for the bones in her left leg to heal before doctors can address the torn ACL — an injury unrelated to the crash itself.
“It’s going to be a long road,” she said. “I always fight and we keep going.”
Despite the setback, Vonn emphasised she has “no regrets” about coming out of a six-year retirement or competing at the Olympics despite her knee injury.
“I wish it had ended differently, but I’d rather go down swinging than not try at all,” she said. “I think what I was able to achieve was more than anyone expected to begin with. ... This year was incredible and so worth everything.”
She described the injuries as “one blip on the radar” and remained defiant about her future.
“Life is life and we have to take the punches that come,” Vonn said. “Going to do the best I can with this one. It really knocked me down. But I’m like Rocky. I’ll just keep getting back up.”
