Vonn announces she will play despite torn anterior cruciate ligament
Olympian Lindsey Vonn will compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, February 8, after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and bone bruises during a downhill injury on January 30.
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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — Even with a broken knee, Lindsey Vonn can do things that the average person wouldn’t be able to do if they were healthy.
The 41-year-old posted a video on Thursday, February 5, showing her doing squats, side lunges, lifting weights, jumping, and kicking her feet on a balance ball. The only sign of a torn anterior cruciate ligament, bone bruise and torn meniscus in her left knee is the brace she wears.
“I’m not giving up. I’m working as hard as I can to make it happen,” Vonn said in an Instagram post.
Vonn plans to ski at the Milan-Cortina Games despite injuring her knee on Friday, January 30, when she crashed during the final downhill run before the Olympics. She said Tuesday, Feb. 3, that her knee was stable and she was able to try skiing that day.
The first official training will take place on Friday 6th February and the big test will take place. Vonn will start in 10th place behind fellow American Breezy Johnson. Another training run will be held on Saturday ahead of the downhill race on Sunday February 8th.
The first training run, originally scheduled for Thursday, was canceled due to heavy snow in Cortina.
“Thank you to my team and everyone for your incredible support. Keep believing,” Vonn wrote, along with prayer hands and heart emojis.
Vonn was the heavy favorite for gold on the downhill stretch before her crash. She finished on the podium in each of her first five downhill races, winning two of them and leading the World Cup season standings in the field.
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