"Five days before the women's downhill at the 2026 Olympics, Lindsey Vonn announced that she had "completely ruptured" the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. She said in a press conference that she'd also suffered bone bruising and a torn meniscus, all sustained in a crash during the final World Cup downhill before the Milan Cortina Games."
""I feel strong," she said in her presser. "My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday.""
"Going into these Olympics, Vonn finds herself in a familiar place: unwilling to let injury steal her thunder even as her torn-up body amplifies the boom she makes in the press. It's an all-too-normal position for the American downhill legend, and one where she has thrived in the past. At the same time, the other star of the U.S. Ski Team, Mikaela Shiffrin, is coming into these Olympics a lot more quietly, which is how she prefers it."
Lindsey Vonn sustained a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, plus bone bruising and a torn meniscus in a crash at the final World Cup downhill before the Milan Cortina Games. Teammates learned the full extent of the damage only after her announcement. Vonn, 41, had a partial titanium knee replacement less than two years ago but reports her left knee feels stable, not swollen, and expresses confidence about competing with a brace. Vonn enters her fifth Olympics accustomed to managing injury, while Mikaela Shiffrin arrives more quietly and focused.
Read at Slate Magazine
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