Fans Rally Around Lindsey Vonn Following Her Latest Health Update

The Alpine ski racer crashed just 13 seconds into her downhill run during the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Lindsey Vonn / Julian Finney/Getty Images

In a heartbreaking and terrifying moment, Lindsey Vonn crashed just 13 seconds into her downhill run during the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday, Feb. 8. The 41-year-old athlete was quickly airlifted from Olympia delle Tofane to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Vonn’s latest injury came just days after the athlete sustained a torn ACL and a bone bruise following a crash at the Crans-Montana downhill on Jan. 30. Despite last month’s injury, Vonn and her doctors were confident she could still compete in the Milan Cortina Games. And in a new Instagram post, shared to the platform on Monday, Feb. 9, Vonn gave her fans an update on her current condition. She also made clear that it was not her prior injury that caused her most recent crash.

“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, 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 5 inches,” she wrote. “I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

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Vonn went on to add that though she is currently stable, she sustained a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. Vonn also took a moment to thank her fans for their unwavering support and to state that, despite the outcome, she has “no regrets” about competing in the Olympics.

“Standing in the starting gate yesterday 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,” Vonn wrote. She later added a note of encouragement for her 3.2 millon followers: “ ... 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.”

The athlete’s comment section was quickly flooded with well-wishes from fellow athletes, friends and fans. As of press time, Vonn’s post has racked up more than 990,000 likes and nearly 60,000 comments.

“Such an amazing human inside & out ❤️thank you for inspiring so many,” WNBA athlete Cameron Brink wrote.

“I’m proud of you for doing that. You are a lesson for all women that we are more than our age and people’s perceptions,” fellow Olympian Ilona Maher added.

“Continued GOAT behavior. As always. 🐐❤️,” musician Tucker Halpern stated.

“You are the definition of extracting the ENTIRETY out of this life and persevering beyond any made up constructs,” sports commentator Selema Masekela applauded.

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