Lindsey Vonn Says She’ll Do ‘Everything in My Power’ to Compete in Olympics Despite Ruptured ACL

Lindsey Vonn says she feels “confident” she can still compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics despite a downhill crash which ruptured the ACL in her left knee.

The 41-year-old was airlifted to hospital in Switzerland following the accident on Friday, January 30.

In a press conference on Tuesday, February 3, the American alpine ski racer spoke of her determination to compete and race through the pain one last time when her events start in Cortina, Italy on Sunday, February 8.

As per a report in USA Today, Vonn said: “”I’m still here. I think I’m still able to fight. I think I’m still able to try. And I will try as long as I have the ability to, I will not go home regretting not trying. I will do everything in my power to be in that starting gate.”

Four-time world champion Vonn retired from the sport in 2019 but made a sensational comeback in December 2024 following a partial replacement of her right knee.

Star reported in December her delight at qualifying for the Olympics in Italy.

At the time she said she couldn’t “guarantee any outcomes” and her situation remains similar now, as she is unable to even commit to the team combined event on February 10 and the super-G on February 12. A lot will depend on how training goes in the coming days ahead of her downhill event.

“It’s only been a few days.” Vonn said, per USA Today. “So if you’re looking at it scientifically, you don’t lose strength that quickly. So as long as my swelling is down, my muscles are firing, my strength is what it was a few days ago.”

She added: ”I have not deviated from my plan. I’ve been determined. Normally in the past, there’s always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers. But I didn’t have that this time. I’m not letting this slip through my fingers. I’m gonna do it, end of story.”

Vonn’s career includes one Olympic gold medal and two bronze. Per the BBC  the skier has bruising and meniscus damage as well as the ACL injury.

She told them: “I felt like this was an amazing opportunity to close out my career in a way that I wanted to — it hasn’t gone exactly the way I wanted it to but I don’t want any regrets.”