Skiing legend Lindsey Vonn has undergone another surgery to stabilize her injured leg in the wake of her devastating crash at the Winter Olympics.
The former Olympic champion, 41, had been competing in Cortina on Sunday following a six-year hiatus from the sport and only nine days on from rupturing the ACL in her left knee in a training run crash ahead of the Games.
But Vonn was just 13 seconds into her run and had rounded the second corner when she appeared to lose control.
The American suffered a broken leg and was airlifted off the mountain and transported to a hospital in Treviso, where surgery was performed on her left leg.
It has now emerged that Vonn, who is being kept in intensive care, has undergone a second procedure, Reuters reported on Monday.
She was operated on by a joint team of local orthopedic and plastic surgeons, a source close to the matter told Reuters, explaining that the procedures were intended to prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow.
Vonn’s personal doctor was present but only assisted while Italian surgeons led the procedures, the source added.
The Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso announced on Monday that she is currently being kept in isolation in her room by members of the US team, per Bild. Vonn is expected to be kept there ‘a few more days.’
The US Ski and Snowboard Team initially confirmed on Sunday that Vonn had undergone a surgery on the injured leg but did not mention multiple procedures.
The hospital she was taken to in Treviso also had not previously mentioned a second operation.
Vonn had defied the impossible by coming back to compete after rupturing her ACL prior to the Games and had completed multiple training runs in the build-up to Sunday’s event.
While concerns have arisen over whether the 2010 Olympic champion was taking a risk in entering the competition – having undergone a reconstruction in her right knee back in 2024 and rupturing her ACL before the tournament – Vonn had made the decision to compete in Sunday’s downhill final.
Despite criticism in the wake of her injury, International Ski Federation (FIS) President Johan Eliasch said the competitor had to make up their own mind.
‘I firmly believe that this has to be decided by the individual … And in her case, she certainly knows her injuries a lot better than anybody else,’ he told reporters on Monday.
‘And what is also important for people to understand that the accident that she had yesterday, she was incredibly unlucky. It was a one in a thousand. She got too close to the gate, and she got stuck when she was in the air in the gate and started rotating.’
His view was echoed by Pierre Ducrey, sports director of the International Olympic Committee.
‘She was able to train and made the choice with her excellent team to take part,’ he said.
Vonn is currently in intensive care, although it is understood that she was transferred there for the sake of extra privacy, rather than any greater medical necessity. The US team have also stated the 2010 gold medallist is ‘stable’.
The veteran athlete had sped over a hill and careered into one of the plastic markers on the side of the track before hitting the ground during her Olympic final run.
Her right leg appeared to hit the ground first, as a cloud of powder engulfed the American. Vonn then tumbled forwards again, appearing to smash her shoulder into the ground, before coming to a halt on the slope.
The Cortina crowd fell silent as medical crews arrived to attend to Vonn, who was later airlifted off the mountain.
Distressing scenes then followed, with Vonn, whose skis had not detached from her boots, seen wincing in pain as she lay on her back in the snow. The American was also heard crying out in agony as the medics placed her onto a stretcher.
And, a photo from AP, moments before Vonn’s crash, shows the skier careering into the ski gate while she was in the air and speeding down the mountain.
Her right arm appeared to be on the wrong side of the gate, and the force of her body was evident as the ski gate seemingly snapped.
Vonn went tumbling seconds after colliding into the gate, with her body rotating 180 degrees before her heavy crash.
Organisers then began to play background music over the skier’s cries as she was lifted onto a stretcher.
The downhill event was subsequently suspended, with other competitors removing their skis at the top of the slope as they waited for Vonn to be evacuated.
Vonn’s American teammate, Breezy Johnson, who had completed her run before the horrific incident, ultimately clinched gold – Team USA’s first medal of the games.
The 30-year-old breezed down the Olimpia delle Tofane in a time of of 1:36.10, just .04 seconds faster than second-place finisher Emma Aicher of Germany. Sofia Goggia of Italy rounded out the podium in third place.
