American snowboarding celebrity Lindsey Vonn will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina despite struggling a “completely ruptured” ACL in a crash on Friday.
Vonn had mentioned in a latest Instagram post that her “Olympic dream is not over” and the 41-year-old’s affirmation at Tuesday’s press convention in the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium will have Team USA followers respiratory a sigh of reduction forward of the Games.
Vonn misplaced management after touchdown a bounce at a World Cup race in Crans-Montana and was seen crashing into the security nets. After being handled by medics, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist was in a position to ski slowly right down to the end line however was clearly feeling discomfort. She was finally airlifted to a hospital for additional analysis, as is commonplace apply for opponents injured throughout their runs.
She was the third skier to crash throughout the morning’s motion. The remainder of the day’s runs have been finally canceled resulting from low visibility.
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Vonn is scheduled to race in the ladies’s downhill occasion on Sunday at this 12 months’s Games, earlier than additionally competing in the super-G and mixed staff competitors. Her coaching runs are set to start on Thursday, forward of the Olympic opening ceremony.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Vonn wrote: “I will nonetheless must do one coaching run, as is required to race on Sunday, however… I’m assured in my physique’s capability to carry out. Despite my accidents my knee is steady, I do not need swelling and my muscle tissue are firing and reacting as they need to.
“I will obviously be continuing to evaluate with my medical team on a daily basis to make sure we are making smart decisions but I have every intention of competing on Sunday.”
When requested at the press convention if she was going to compete in all three disciplines, Vonn mentioned, “I don’t know,” earlier than including that her present aim is the downhill, however that if her knee is steady, she will proceed to race with the intention to compete in all three disciplines.
“I don’t want to have any regrets,” she mentioned.
“The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about. Every day, my knee has gotten better.”
The American star added to the assembled media that she was in search of the circumstances that might assist her ski quickest – Cortina’s regular, compact snow – not these which might “help (her) knee.”
Vonn made a outstanding comeback final season after practically six years away from the sport, despite present process partial knee alternative surgical procedure, and is presently main the World Cup downhill season standings.
A downhill medal at Milan Cortina would break Vonn’s personal document she set in 2018 as the oldest lady to make the podium in the self-discipline at a Winter Games and mark a triumphant bookend to her Olympic profession.
The three-time Olympic medalist mentioned the 2019 world championships have been the closest factor she’s skilled to what she’s going via now, earlier than including that the state of affairs in 2019 was maybe worse.
She mentioned, “I feel a lot better right now than I did in 2019 for the last world championships, and I still got a medal there.” Vonn finally gained bronze in the downhill at the 2019 world championships in Åre, Sweden, earlier than retiring for the first time.
Asked the place she would rank the second in her profession if she have been to start out and medal in the downhill on Sunday, Vonn mentioned: “Well, I will make it to the beginning gate. … This can be the greatest comeback I’ve finished up to now. Definitely the most dramatic, that’s for certain.
“A pretty damn good comeback if I can pull it off.”