Lindsey Vonn makes emotional promise on career as she gives health update five months on from horror crash
Five months on from her horror crash at the Milano-Cortina Olympics, Lindsey Vonn is still struggling to get back to normality.
The legendary skier returned from retirement in order to compete at the Winter Olympics back in February, as she sought to reclaim her title as the best of all time, after US compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin moved to the top of the medal list.
She had already gone through a partial knee replacement before the games and suffered an ACL injury just weeks before she was due to compete, but that didn't stop her from taking to the starting line in February.
Sadly, the 41-year-old had to be airlifted to hospital after she struck a gate just 13 seconds into her downhill run, with the athlete later revealing that she'd suffered a complex tibia fracture in her left leg.
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After weeks in hospital the alpine ski racer was allowed to return home to the US but in one of her first public appearances since, she made it clear that the serious injury is still causing her a lot of strife.
"It's been a very slow process, Vonn told People on the red carpet. "It's been five months since I've been able to actually go to the gym in a somewhat meaningful way. And walking is actually still really hard for me."
This certainly matches up with the advice that was offered by orthopaedic expert knee specialist Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottettold in an interview with RMC Sport after he said it could be months until Vonn is able to walk independently again, and that an amputation could even be required.
He said: "Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk. I think we're not yet at the stage of returning to high-level skiing. We're not there yet, but some injuries like hers can end in amputation.
"The latest images posted on her Instagram account show that, even though the surgeries were successful, the 'external fixator' - that is, the enormous pin they put in her left leg - proves that they haven't been able to fully repair her fracture.
"It's only temporary for now. It's important to understand that her injury is extremely serious and will cause her problems for at least months, and could even leave her with lifelong consequences."
Despite the physical and emotional toll that the injury has taken on the 41-year-old, it seems as if she is still determined to make a return to competitive skiing.
Following her injury, the athlete also suggested that she had 'no regrets' regarding her decision to compete, even after many had advised her not to following her ACL injury.
In an emotional statement, she said: "My Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn't a storybook ending or a fairy tale, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it.
"Because in Downhill ski racing, the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as five inches.
"I was simply five inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside the gate, twisting me and resulting in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.
"Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.
"While it did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.
"Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport. And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall.
"Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don't achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try. I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.
"I hope if you take away anything from my journey, it's that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me. LV"
Topics: Winter Olympics, Extreme Sports
James Moorhouse