Why Lindsey Vonn is being applauded for going out on her own terms
Despite the crash and surgery, American skiing superstar’s legacy remains intact
Dubai: Life on the fast lane always comes with its pitfalls. Ask Michael Schumacher.
Arguably the greatest ever to drive a Formula 1 car, the German, famous for pushing himself to the limit, suffered a severe, life-altering brain injury during a skiing accident on December 29, 2013 in the French Alps.
And while he may not have been as accomplished on the slopes as Lindsay Vonn, the injury-prone nature of the sport was illustrated yet again on Sunday when the 41-year-old American skiing great crashed out of the Winter Olympics downhill while pushing herself to the limit to brutally end her improbable dream of a medal.
The result: Vonn was eventually strapped into a stretcher and winched into the air by a rescue helicopter as the crowd applauded. By the evening, the Ca’ Foncello hospital in Treviso where Vonn was treated said she had required “surgery to stabilise a fracture of the left leg”.
Remarkable comeback
The president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, called Vonn an “incredible inspiration” after the crash, adding: “We’re all thinking of you.”
“Tragic,” International Ski and Snowboard president Johan Eliasch said moments later. “But it’s ski racing, right?”
Her US teammate Breezy Johnson, who went on to win the downhill to earn the first Olympic gold of her career, revealed her thoughts were with Vonn, saying: “My heart goes out to her.”
Just two weeks ago, Vonn looked in contention to cap a remarkable comeback from retirement by winning the second Olympic title of her career — her last came 16 years ago in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
She had retired in 2019 but returned to the slopes in 2024 after surgery to insert a titanium implant in her right knee to quell persistent pain.
But her Olympic plans were thrown into disarray when she crashed in a World Cup race at Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30.
In a press conference once she arrived in Italy, she admitted that she had ruptured her ACL in that fall, but insisted she could still compete for medals, although she conceded: “I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren’t the same as it stands today.”
In view of what happened on Sunday, some will question whether Vonn should have been in the start gate at all, but it was her choice to take part in what could be the final Olympic event of her career, a seemingly impossible dream that lasted all of 13 seconds.
“She deserved a better ending than that,” her US teammate Isabella Wright said.
“It’s her choice,” veteran skier Federica Brignone of Italy said. “If it’s your body, then you decide what to do, whether to race or not. It’s not up to others. Only you.”
So if Sunday really was it, maybe it was a fitting end. Vonn has always done things her way and that includes going out on her own terms.
