The women’s downhill was won by Vonn’s U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson.

Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn crashes while competing on torn ACL, dashing comeback hopes

The women's downhill was won by Vonn's U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

EW's editorial guidelines

February 8, 2026 12:42 p.m. ET

Lindsey Vonn crashes during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Credit:

For the second time in two weeks, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn has been airlifted to a hospital after sustaining an injury in a downhill crash.

During the women's downhill event at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, the 41-year-old ski legend lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight. Vonn was seen spinning in the air before crashing and was subsequently heard screaming as medical personnel surrounded her. Within 15 minutes, Vonn was strapped to a gurney and flown away in a helicopter.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team has since announced on social that Vonn was injured but is now in stable condition and in "good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians."

** has reached out to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team for additional information.**

Lindsey Vonn at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

Vonn's latest injury comes just nine days after the skier tore the ACL in her left knee while landing a jump in a World Cup race, when she lost control and became tangled in the safety nets on the course. Vonn received medical attention at the site and later took to social media to clarify that despite rupturing her ACL and sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising, she remained determined to compete in the Winter Games.

Following Vonn's injury Sunday, the president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, Johan Eliasch, said that while he did not yet know the severity of her injury, he would caution commentators against blaming her knee injury for the crash.**

Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn hits the slopes as Captain America

Charlize Theron makes surprise Olympics appearance to share emotional message

"Knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, she knows her injuries, and she knows also what she's capable of," Eliasch said, per *USA Today*. "Everybody had such high expectations. And yeah, it's tragic, but again, it's ski racing and accidents do happen."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

The women's downhill event resumed and was won by Vonn's U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson, the reigning world champion.

"I hope it's not as bad as it looked," Johnson said of Vonn's crash in her post-race news conference. "Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse. My heart just goes out to her."

Vonn debuted at the 2002 Olympics as a teenager. After winning three Olympic medals — a gold for a downhill race in 2010 and two bronzes, for the Super-G in 2010 and downhill in 2018 — she retired in 2019, having suffered multiple knee injuries. Vonn announced her return in 2024, after undergoing a partial knee replacement to extend her career.**

- Entertainment Lifestyle

- Sports Events

- Olympic Games

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Olympic”