Team U.S.A. Olympic Ski Racer Gets Airlifted After Crashing Hard On Slopes

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Olympic ski racer Lindsey Vonn’s hopes to get her second Gold Medal at the Olympics have been shattered.

On Saturday, Vonn, while competing in the downhill skiing event, suffered a major mishap that sent her crashing into the snow.

The crash shocked many viewers, given that Vonn had avoided such crashes throughout the majority of her career at the Olympic Games.

The crash was serious enough to prompt a medivac team, which rushed Vonn to the hospital.

USA Today reported more details on Vonn’s scary crash:

Lindsey Vonn’s hopes of winning another Olympic medal were dashed when the American star crashed hard early in her downhill run.

Vonn got off balance in the air off the first jump, and all her weight shifted to the backs of her skis. She tried to right herself in the air but couldn’t and crashed to the snow.

The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow as gasps and groans faded into shocked silence from the large contingent of spectators.

Vonn clipped the fourth gate with her right arm. Her legs went akimbo and her weight was too far back on her skis to recover. She tumbled on her side and then somersaulted. The crash happened about 13 to 14 seconds into the run, and Vonn could be heard wailing in pain.

Vonn remained down on the course approximately 13 minutes before being loaded up into the helicopter, which then airlifted Vonn roughly 18 minutes after the crash.

Watch the moment it went down here:

Here’s the moment she was airlifted:

ESPN reported Vonn was racing on a torn ACL:

All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She had returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years, a remarkable decision given her age, but she also had a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee. Many wondered how she would fare as she sought a gold medal to join the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned everyone by being a contender almost immediately. She came to the Olympics as the leader in the World Cup downhill standings and was a gold medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland nine days ago, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In addition to a ruptured ACL, she also had a bone bruise and meniscus damage.

Still, no one counted her out even then. She has skied through injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, Vonn took a bad fall during downhill training and went to the hospital. She competed less than 48 hours later, racing in all four events she had planned, with a top result of seventh in the super-G.

Cortina has always had many treasured memories for Vonn beyond the record wins. She is called the queen of Cortina, and the Olympia delle Tofana course had always suited Vonn. She tested out the knee twice in downhill training runs over the past three days before the awful crash on Sunday in clear, sunny conditions.



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