"At 41, Vonn is pushing her body to the limit, competing in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics despite suffering a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, along with meniscus and bone damage in a Jan. 30 crash in a downhill race in Crans Montana, Switzerland. On Friday, a week after that World Cup accident, she completed her first downhill training run."
"She wore a brace to protect her injured left knee. The ACL acts as a stabilizer in the knee, preventing it from buckling and keeping the tibia from moving too far forward. It's essential to rotational stability, which plays a role in sudden movements and jumping. Downhill ski racers are not running backs or point guards, however, and don't make those same jolting lateral moves and therefore, experts say, are better able to compensate for a torn ACL."
"I knew the minute she crashed that she would race [in the Olympics] if there was any opportunity to race," said Armando Gonzalez, who has worked closely with the ski-racing legend since 2020. "She'd go out there and be the last gladiator standing if it were up to her."
Lindsey Vonn suffered a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, plus meniscus and bone damage, in a Jan. 30 World Cup crash. One week later she completed her first downhill training run at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, clocking 1 minute, 40.33 seconds and placing ninth among early competitors while wearing a protective brace. The ACL provides rotational stability and prevents the tibia from excess forward movement, but experts note downhill racers make fewer abrupt lateral moves and can sometimes compensate for a torn ACL. Her mental coach expected she would race if any opportunity existed.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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