Ski Legend Vonn Eyes Olympic Gold Without ACL After January Injury

With the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics just one week away on January 30, ski legend Lindsey Vonn (42, USA) faced a shocking setback at a World Cup event in Switzerland. During competition, she collided forcefully with a safety net beside the slope after a jump, suffering a severe tear of her left knee's anterior cruciate ligament.

Reports quickly emerged suggesting Vonn's Olympic return—her first since PyeongChang eight years ago—was in jeopardy. The concerns gained weight given her history: a right knee ACL tear had forced her to miss the 2014 Sochi Games.

But fans erupted with excitement when a video appeared on Vonn's Instagram shortly after the injury. It showed her training intensely with a brace on her injured left knee. Her unwavering commitment to rigorous training despite the recent serious injury heightened expectations for these Winter Olympics. "It's unfortunate this happened about a week before the Olympics, but I have know-how when it comes to comebacks. The Olympic dream is not over," she declared.

Though the injury could have ended her career, it failed to derail the legend's journey. Vonn arrived defiantly in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, where the Olympic ski events will be held. She posted strong times in practice runs on the Olympic course, boosting her medal prospects. In the second practice run, she clocked 1:38.28—just 0.37 seconds behind first-place finisher Breezy Johnson (USA, 1:37.91).

Vonn is a legend with 84 career World Cup victories and three Olympic medals (one gold, two bronze). She has also been a warrior against injuries throughout her career. Two weeks before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she suffered a shin injury but competed anyway in the downhill event, winning gold. At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, she competed through severe back pain and claimed bronze in the downhill.

Plagued by continuing injuries, Vonn announced her retirement in February 2019. The successive injuries had made even daily life impossible.

Yet her passion for skiing only grew during her time away. After surgery to implant a titanium artificial knee joint eliminated her pain, Vonn returned to the slopes in 2024 after five years and nine months. Following her first World Cup since her comeback in December 2024, she smiled broadly and said, "It felt great to feel that tension of facing the mountain again after so long." Despite the extended absence, the ski legend's skills remained sharp. Holding her own against competitors a generation younger, she collected two golds, two silvers, and three bronzes on the World Cup circuit this season.

The Cortina d'Ampezzo venue hosting this Olympics is practically home turf for Vonn. She has won 12 World Cup races here and knows the course intimately. This explains why medal predictions persist despite her serious injury. If Vonn reaches the podium in any of her three events (downhill, super-G, team event), she will surpass Johan Clarey (France), who won silver at the 2022 Beijing Olympics at age 41 years and 1 month, to become the oldest Olympic medalist in alpine skiing history.

Her "great journey" toward a fourth career Olympic medal begins at 7:30 PM Korean time on February 8 in the women's alpine skiing downhill event.