Lindsey Vonn says ‘Olympic dream isn’t over’ after fall on final downhill before Winter Games

Lindsey Vonn crashed and injured her left knee Friday during her final downhill race before the Olympics, but said she still hopes to recover in time for the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

“It’s a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympic Games, but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback,” wrote the 41-year-old American on Instagram, a few hours after being evacuated from the course for medical checks. “My Olympic dream is not over.”

Vonn was the third skier to fall at the World Cup in Crans-Montana when she lost control during a jump and became tangled in the safety nets on the upper part of the course.

She got up after receiving medical attention for about five minutes, apparently in pain and using her poles to stabilize herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish line, stopping several times on the way down and clutching her left knee.

“I fell today during a downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee. I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further tests,” Vonn wrote in her Instagram post. “Thank you for all your love and support. I will provide more information when I have it.”

The race, which took place in difficult conditions with low visibility, was canceled after Vonn’s crash.

The American, who was expected to be one of the biggest stars of the Games, limped to a tent to receive medical treatment before being flown by helicopter, hanging from a lifting cable, with two people accompanying her.

Before entering the tent, Vonn had an anxious expression on her face and her eyes were closed during a long embrace with teammate Jacqueline Wiles, who was leading the race when it was called off.

“I know she injured her knee, I spoke to her,” Urs Lehmann, director general of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, told reporters in the finish area. “I don’t know if it’s really heavy and (if) she won’t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait and see what the doctors say.”

Vonn made a stunning comeback last season at age 40 after nearly six years of absence from ski racing. Skiing with a partial titanium implant in her right knee, she was the best downhiller on the circuit this season with two victories and three other podiums in the five races.

Including super-G, Vonn competed in eight World Cup races this season and finished on the podium in seven of them. His worst result was fourth.

The accident happened exactly a week before the opening ceremony of Milan Cortina.

Vonn’s first Olympic race will be the women’s downhill on February 8. She also planned to compete in the super-G and the new team combined event at the Games.

Women’s skiing at the Olympics will take place in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup victories.

Vonn also planned to compete in a super-G in Crans-Montana on Saturday in what would have been her final race before the Games.

Difficult racing conditions

Vonn was the sixth rider in Friday’s downhill and had recorded the fastest time at the first checkpoint before performing an off-balance jump. She raised her left arm and pole in the air to try to regain her balance. As she tried to brake, she turned around and ended up in the net.

Two other skiers had also fallen before her: the Austrian Nina Ortlieb and the Norwegian Marte Monsen.

Ortlieb crashed in the same area as Vonn and Monsen hit the nets just before the finish and had to be taken away in a sled. The race was delayed after these two accidents. But then two runners – Wiles and Corinne Suter, the Olympic champion, finished their race.

Wiles could barely make the final sharp left turn that had fooled Monsen.

Frenchwoman Romane Miradoli, who finished her race as second to start, said visibility was problematic due to snowfall.

“You can’t see,” Miradoli said, “and it’s bumpy everywhere.”

Asked if it was dangerous, Miradoli added: “We just couldn’t see well.”

Vonn has had numerous accidents during her career. One of his worst performances came at the 2013 World Championships in Schladming, Austria, during a super-G that also took place in difficult conditions. Vonn then had to be airlifted from the course and tore her right knee. She returned the following season, was injured again and missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Crans-Montana tributes

The race began on Friday in a gloomy atmosphere in Crans-Montana which is dealing with the trauma of a devastating fire in a bar in the early hours of the New Year which killed 40 people and injured more than 100. A minute of silence was observed before the race.

The arrival area devoid of color and the usual sponsor advertisements. Instead, it was dressed in white and black banners featuring a ribbon with the words “Our thoughts are with you” written in French, German, Italian and English.