Olympics 2026: Lindsey Vonn crashes in final downhill race before Winter Games

Lindsey Vonn’s preparations for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina took a troubling turn Friday when the American star crashed on the final World Cup downhill before the Games and was airlifted off the course for a medical evaluation.

Vonn, 41, lost control after performing a jump at the upper part of the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, finding himself slammed into the safety net amid falling snow and low visibility. She was the sixth skier to start the race, who had already experienced several falls before her race.

After receiving medical attention on the trail, Vonn was able to get up and slowly descend to the finish area, but she was favoring her left knee and using her poles for support. She stopped several times on the descent and appeared in visible discomfort. The race was later canceled following the series of accidents.

At the bottom of the course, Vonn hugged teammate Jacqueline Wiles before limping into a medical tent. She was then flown by helicopter from the venue, a common procedure during mountain races, with the US Ski Team confirming on social media that Vonn was being evaluated.

“She has some pain so it’s better to do some checks,” Aksel Lund Svindal, a two-time Olympic champion who is part of Vonn’s coaching team, told Reuters. “The physio did a few checks, they looked OK, but there were some things he wasn’t 100 per cent sure about so it was good to get it checked (at hospital).”

The accident comes exactly a week before the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Games, where Vonn is expected to be one of the sport’s biggest stars. Her first scheduled Olympic event is the women’s downhill two days after the ceremony, with plans to also compete in the super-G and team combined.

Vonn’s comeback was one of the most remarkable stories in skiing. After retiring in 2019 due to the physical toll of repeated injuries, she returned to competition following a partial right knee replacement in April 2024. Now skiing with a titanium implant, she has dominated the downhill circuit this season with two wins and podiums in each race, leading the discipline standings.

Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Olympic venue for women’s alpine skiing, is also one of Vonn’s most successful stops, where she has won 12 of her 84 career World Cup victories.

Friday’s fall, however, adds uncertainty to his Olympic prospects. Vonn has suffered serious injuries before, including a devastating knee injury at the 2013 World Championships that forced her to miss the 2014 Sochi Olympics.