Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic comeback ended in heartbreak after a high-speed crash in Cortina forced her evacuation and cast doubt on her final chapter.
Lindsey Vonn is airlifted from the Cortina slope after crashing during the women’s Olympic downhill (Photo: X)
Lindsey Vonn's long-awaited Olympic comeback was supposed to be a triumph of determination and persistence but her event turned out to be in silent shock following her ghastly crash at Cortina, leading her out of the competition and ending her bold effort at the Games, deemed one of the most audacious comebacks in Olympic history itself.
Lindsey Vonn is arguably one of the greatest natural talents that alpine skiing has ever seen. Born in Minnesota, she rose through the junior circuits and on to global prominence with four overall World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal before she retired in 2019 with 84 World Cup victories, she sits among the sport's top three all-time.
That Vonn had blitzed out of the Olympia delle Tofane course in just about 12 seconds wearing bib 13 and a knee brace, she had clipped an early gate, taking off into the air, slammed out of the course at high speed. Medics worked with her for about 15 minutes before she was airlifted away by helicopter, as the crowd stood in stunned silence.
What made this impact so powerful is where she stood before this event just a few days before, Vonn had torn her ACL in a World Cup crash in Switzerland. She was 41 years old and competing for the dream of being the oldest Olympic alpine skier with a medal. She chose to race with torn ligaments, bone bruising and a torn meniscus, even though she knew she was endangered.
Vonn spent a good amount of her growing years learning from home to enable her to focus on top-tier training and her family relocated to Colorado to support her path to success, which she has repeatedly given as a reason for her success. Off the slopes, she has been vocal been vocal about mental health, recovery and life beyond racing.
Lindsey Vonn was largely homeschooled to balance elite ski training, later attending the University of Missouri briefly before fully committing to her professional alpine skiing career.
In 2007, Vonn married her fellow Olympic skier Thomas Vonn, they separated in 2013 and she continued to use his surname for business. Since then, she has kept her personal relationships mostly private, shifting the focus toward her career and other social causes.
As of 2026, the figure of her estimated wealth is about $70 million, most of which is earned through prize money, endorsements, sponsorships, media appearances and brand deals that she has managed to establish over the years of her success in the highest echelon of the sport.
Vonn's downhill run aired live on February 8 at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time with reruns later shown throughout NBC's platforms and she was set to compete in the women's Super-G on February 12, but after the crash, her involvement is dependent upon medical evaluations.
