02/08/26 06:39:00
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02/08 06:38 CST Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic downhill, taken away by
helicopter as US teammate Johnson wins gold
Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic downhill, taken away by helicopter as US
teammate Johnson wins gold
By ANDREW DAMPF and PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writers
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Lindsey Vonn, racing on a badly injured left
knee, crashed early in the Olympic downhill on Sunday and was taken off the
course by a helicopter after the 41-year-old American received medical
attention on the snow for long, anguished minutes.
Vonn lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight
and was spun around in the air. She was heard screaming out after the crash as
she was surrounded by medical personnel before she was strapped to a gurney and
flown away by a helicopter, possibly ending the skier's storied career. Her
condition was not immediately known, with the U.S. Ski Team saying simply she
would be evaluated.
Breezy Johnson, Vonn's teammate, won gold and became only the second American
woman to win the Olympic downhill after Vonn did it 16 years ago. The
30-year-old Johnson held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy's Sofia Goggia on
a bittersweet day for Team USA.
Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared
down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds
on the course. Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched
quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course she knows so well
and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.
Vonn's crash was "tragic, but it's ski racing," said Johan Eliasch, president
of the Internationl Ski and Snowboard Federation.
"I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport," he said,
"because this race has been the talk of the games and it's put our sport in the
best possible light."
All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She
had returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a
remarkable decision given her age but she also had a partial titanium knee
replacement in her right knee, too. Many wondered how she would fare as she
sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010
Vancouver Games.
The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender
almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup
downhill standings and was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in
Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In
addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.
Still, no one counted her out even then. In truth, she has skied through
injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin
Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the
hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events
she'd planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.
"It's definitely weird," she said then, "going from the hospital bed to the
start gate."
Cortina has always had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins.
She is called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana is a course
that had always suited Vonn. She tested out the knee twice in downill training
runs over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny
conditions.
"This would be the best comeback I've done so far," Vonn said before the race.
"Definitely the most dramatic."
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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