Just days before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, veteran Team USA skier Lindsey Vonn suffered a ruptured ACL in her left knee when she lost control landing a jump in Switzerland.
But Vonn has showed no signs of slowing down, has her sights set on competing at the Olympics in the coming weeks, and on Thursday shared an incredible video of her working out ahead of the Winter Games, with that left knee heavily braced:
Chris Knight, Vonn’s head coach, told the media on Wednesday that the 41-year-old American can “still pull off this dream” of competing in the downhill when the games begin.
“I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Vonn’s head coach Chris Knight told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Vonn is working with a team of two physical therapists (Lindsay Winninger and Andi Mitterfellner) as well as fitness trainer Peter Meliessnig, all of whom have been working extra with the skier to get her ready despite the injury.
“She’s been doing box jumps. She’s trying everything out, loads and stresses and things like that to just see where she’s at and see how she feels, and she’s pulled up great from everything,” Knight said. “No swelling, no pain.”
Vonn told the media on Tuesday that surgery is “not really on [her] radar” ahead of the games.
“It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she said. “Every day my knee’s gotten better. And every day we’re discussing with a full medical team, doctors, physios, everyone, to make sure we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
In addition to the ruptured ACL, Vonn has bone bruising and meniscal damage in her left knee.
“She’s not 20 years old; she’s 40 years old. And we’re not looking at anything past this year anyway,” Knight said. “Obviously there’s some risks to just to be able to even ski at the level she wants to ski at. And nobody knows 100% what’s going to happen. But all the right markers and factors are there for us. … It’s a pretty easy decision to keep moving forward.”
She absolutely is moving forward.
And now we have video proof.
