Lindsey Vonn is preparing to fly home to the US with more surgeries to come, team official tells AP

"CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy -- American Lindsey Vonn was preparing to fly back to her home country on Sunday after her terrifying head-over-heels crash in the Olympic downhill, the U.S. Ski Team's chief told The Associated Press. Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, said the team's medical staff has been coordinating Vonn's recovery since the crash and subsequent helicopter evacuation at the Milan Cortina Games and would try to accompany her home."

""The impact, the silence, everyone was just in shock. And you could tell it was a really nasty injury," said Goldschmidt, who was there. "There's a lot of danger in doing all sorts of Alpine sports but it gives more of an appreciation for how superhuman these athletes are. "I mean, putting your body on the line, going at those speeds, the physicality. Sometimes actually on the broadcast it's really hard to get that across," Goldschmidt added. "Danger sometimes brings fans in and is pretty captivating. We obviously hope we won't have injuries like that but it is unfortunately part and parcel of our sports.""

Lindsey Vonn endured a violent head-over-heels crash in the Olympic downhill and was helicopter-evacuated from the Milan Cortina venue. Team medical staff coordinated her recovery and she has undergone multiple surgeries in Italy to repair a complex tibia fracture in her left leg. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association aims to accompany her home and Vonn will travel back to the U.S. for additional surgeries. Vonn attempted the downhill at age 41 with a torn left ACL and a partial titanium right-knee replacement. She clipped a gate 13 seconds into her run, producing a spinning, airborne crash that stunned spectators and officials.

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