CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn crashed and injured her left knee on Friday during her final descent before the Olympic Gamesbut said she still hopes to recover in time for the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
“This is a very difficult outcome a week before the Olympic Games… but if there is one thing I can do, it is a comeback,” the 41-year-old American wrote on Instagram, hours after she was flown off the course for medical checks. “My Olympic dream is not over yet.”
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Vonn was the third skier to crash during the World Cup race in Crans-Montana when she lost control while landing a jump and became tangled in the safety nets on the upper part of the course.
She got up after receiving medical attention for about five minutes. She was apparently in pain and used her sticks to steady herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish, stopping a few times along the way and holding her left knee.
“I crashed today during the downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee. I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,” Vonn wrote in her Instagram post. “Thank you for all the love and support. I will provide more information when I have it.”
The race, which was held in difficult conditions with poor visibility, was canceled after Vonn’s crash.
The American, who was expected to be one of the Games’ biggest stars, stumbled into a tent for medical attention before being flown away by helicopter, dangling from a lifting rope as two people attended to her.
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Before entering the tent, Vonn had an anxious expression on her face and her eyes were closed during a long embrace with teammate Jacqueline Wiles, who was leading the race when it was canceled.
“I know she hurt her knee, I spoke to her,” Urs Lehmann, CEO of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, told reporters at the finish area. “I don’t know if it’s really tough and (if) she won’t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait to see what the doctors say.”
Vonn made a stunning comeback last season at the age of 40, after nearly six years away from ski racing. Skiing with a partial titanium implant with her right knee she was the circuit’s leading downhiller this season with two wins and three other podium finishes in the five races.
Including super-G, Vonn had competed in eight World Cup races this season and finished on the podium in seven of them. Her worst finish was fourth place.
The crash took place exactly a week before Milan Cortina’s opening ceremony.
Vonn’s first Olympic race will be the women’s downhill on Feb. 8. She also planned to compete in the super-G and the new team combined event at the Games.
The women’s skiing at the Olympic Games will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn has the record of twelve World Cup victories.
Vonn also planned to race a super-G on Saturday at Crans-Montana in what would have been her final race before the Games.
