"CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy Here in the Dolomites, with the 2026 Winter Olympics finally underway, there is one sentence heard in recent days more than any other: "If anyone can do it, Lindsey can." That Lindsey is, of course, Lindsey Vonn, the 41-year-old skiing superstar whose genuinely epic comeback from retirement to compete at these Olympic Games was suddenly thrown into jeopardy just over a week ago when she crashed during a race and tore her left anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL. Most athletes would bow out after such a serious injury. Instead, Vonn stunned the skiing world by announcing this week that she would compete anyway."
"How can a skier ski on a torn ACL? The ACL, or the anterior cruciate ligament, connects the femur to the tibia and helps to stabilize the knee as it pivots meaning it is key to athletes in sports like soccer, hockey and football, said Dr. Timothy Lin, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine doctor at Dartmouth Health who has worked with the U.S. ski team. In other sports, like football, an ACL tear can end an athlete's season."
Lindsey Vonn, age 41, tore her left anterior cruciate ligament during a race but announced she will compete in the Olympic downhill while wearing a knee brace. The ACL connects the femur to the tibia and stabilizes the knee during pivoting, making it crucial for sports with cutting and pivoting movements. Orthopedic specialist Dr. Timothy Lin noted skiing involves less cutting and pivoting than sports like football, and downhill racing emphasizes straight-line, tucked positions that may reduce pivot stress. Unexpected crashes commonly cause ACL tears in skiing. Vonn reports her knee feels stable and not swollen.
Read at www.npr.org
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