Hospital shares new update on Lindsey Vonn's condition after Olympic skier helicoptered off slope
The hospital treating Lindsey Vonn has issued an update on her condition after she suffered a horrific accident at the Winter Olympics.
Vonn had been competing in the final for the women's downhill event in Cortina when one of her ski poles clipped a gate on the first turn, causing the 41-year-old to lose her balance and tumble down the course.
Horrified viewers were left to watch on as Vonn was treated on the slopes before being helicoptered to Ca' Foncello Hospital in Cortina, in a tragic end to her Olympic skiing career.
Ca' Foncello Hospital has since shared an update on the skiing legend's health, revealing that she has undergone treatment for a left leg fracture.
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Released via the official Milan 2026 website, the update said that Vonn had undergone 'orthopaedic surgery' in order to 'stabilise a fracture in her left leg'.
The update added that she is in a 'stable condition' and under the treatment of a 'multidisciplinary team' of both 'American and Italian physicians'.
It comes as Chief of Sport for US Ski and Snowboard, Anouk Patty, also shared an update on the alpine ski racer, saying she will be okay but is expecting a lengthy recovery.
"She'll be OK, but it's going to be a bit of a process," Patty told reporters. "This sport's brutal, and people need to remember when they're watching, these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast."
The horror crash occurred just a week after Vonn had revealed she would be participating in the event with a ruptured ACL, telling her followers: "My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone."
Vonn's sister has since spoken out on the incident, saying that she was aware of the risks of participating with a ruptured ACL.
"I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you're just immediately hoping she's okay," she told USA Today.
"And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it's not a good sign.
"But she really ... she just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it's really hard to see but we just really hope she's okay."
Revealing that Vonn had her medical team and training staff present at the hospital, she added: "She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I'm sure they'll give us a report and we'll meet her at whatever hospital she's at."
Vonn's US team-mate, Breezy Johnson, later went on to win gold in the women's downhill event, following a 20-minute pause, becoming the first American to do so since Vonn in the 2010 games.
She later told reporters that, according to her coach, Vonn had been 'cheering for me' from the medical helicopter.
"Her coach said she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope for the best for her," Johnson said (via PEOPLE).
"I hope that it's not too bad. My heart aches for her. It's such a brutal sport sometimes."
Topics: Winter Olympics, Sport
Brenna Cooper