Days after a frightening crash that brought her time at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games to a tragic end, Lindsey Vonn insisted she doesn’t “have regrets,” adding “the ride was worth the fall.”
Vonn, in an Instagram post on Saturday, said she underwent a fourth surgery, which went well, and is thankful she’ll soon be able to return to the United States.
“Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury…” she said, in part.
The 41-year-old Olympian was airlifted after she crashed on Sunday only 13.4 seconds into her run during the women’s downhill ski event. Vonn previously said that recovery from a “complex tibia fracture” would require “multiple surgeries,” but did not give many additional details.
Star skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during the women’s downhill final on Sunday.
In her Instagram post, Vonn said she has read a lot of comments from people who said her injury has made them sad, and she had a message for them.
“Please, don’t be sad,” she said. “Empathy, love and support I welcome with an open heart, but please not sadness or sympathy. I hope instead it gives you strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and that is what I will continue to do. Always.”
Vonn said she was willing to take the risk and sacrifice for something she knew she was capable of doing.
“I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret. I never want to cross finish line and say,”what if?” she asked.
Just nine days before the crash, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee. Despite the injury, she appeared stable in two downhill training runs before her fall in the final.
However, Vonn said she doesn’t think the ACL injury played a role in her fall, saying she was “simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate.”
That caused Vonn to become twisted and resulted in her crash.
Writing in her latest message, the Olympian said “the ride was worth the fall.”
“When I close my eyes at night I don’t have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains,” she stated. “I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will.”
