Sports
Skier Lindsey Vonn Breaks Her Silence Following Horrific 2026 Winter Olympics Crash
Lindsey Vonn responded to some kind words on social media, breaking her silence for the first time since her dramatic crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, February 8.
The Olympic skier, 41, thanked British journalist Dan Walker on X after he wrote a lengthy post praising Vonn’s decision to compete once more after tearing her ACL during a World Cup race last month.
“Thank you, Dan,” she wrote on Monday, February 8, in her first activity on social media since the crash, which resulted in a broken leg and her having to be airlifted off the slope.
In his post, Walker called Vonn’s attitude to compete at all “the very essence of sport.”
“It wasn’t just about chasing glory… it was about defiance,” he wrote in part. “This is what sport looks like when you strip away the polish. It’s not comfortable… it’s painful. Risk instead of safety.”
He added, “Vonn knew she might not win. She knew it might hurt. She understood the risk. She embraced it because not going down that mountain would mean surrendering to the things that stop you getting out of bed in the morning.”
Vonn discussed her difficult decision to compete at the 2026 games following her injury in an Instagram post shared just a day before she crashed.
“Just getting to these Olympics has been a journey, and one that some did not believe in from the start,” she wrote. I retired for 6 years, and because of a partial knee replacement, I had the chance to compete one more time. But why? Everyone seems to be asking me that question. But I think the answer is simple… I just love ski racing.”
Vonn crashed just 13 seconds into her run for the women’s downhill run on the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
“Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians,” the US Ski & Snowboard Team said in a statement shortly after the crash.
According to Reuters, she underwent surgery on a broken leg immediately after arriving at Ca’Foncello Hospital.
