On February 8, 2026, Lindsey Vonn crashed approximately 13 seconds into her run in the women's downhill at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Her arm hooked a gate, causing her to spin and tumble into the packed snow. She was airlifted to Ca' Foncello Hospital in Treviso, where she was diagnosed with a complex tibia fracture in her left leg. She underwent four surgeries in Italy before being discharged on Sunday, February 16.
Vonn had competed with a torn ACL in her left knee, an injury she sustained nine days earlier in a training/tune-up race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. She had chosen to delay surgery and compete at the Olympics, which she had described as likely her final Games given her age. She had come out of retirement in 2024 and won two World Cup downhill races this season, and appeared to be in medal contention based on training run times.
On Monday, February 17, Vonn posted on X that she had returned to the US, noting she had not been able to stand in over a week. She described her injury as "a lot more severe than just a broken leg" and said further details and at least one more surgery were forthcoming. She expressed no regrets about her decision to race.
A separate technical story covered by one outlet noted that Vonn's skis did not release during the crash, and that a "smart binding" system that could automatically release skis during a crash is still in early development stages, years away from implementation.