Lindsey Vonn Reveals She Can Return to US After 4th Surgery, Recalls Winter Olympics 2026 Ski Accident
Lindsey Vonn is heading home after having four surgeries in Italy following her ski accident during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 41-year-old Olympic athlete suffered a complex tibia fracture in a horrific crash during her Women’s Downhill event last Sunday (February 8).
While in the Italian hospital, Lindsey has been sharing updates on her multiple surgeries, and now after the fourth, she can finally head back home to the US to continue care.
Keep reading to find out more…
“Surgery went well today! Thankfully I will be able to finally go back to the US ????????! Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury…. But until then, as I sit here in my bed reflecting, I have a few thoughts I’d like to share,” she shared on Saturday (February 14), nearly a week after her accident.
“I have been reading a lot of messages and comments saying that what has happened to me makes them sad. Please, don’t be sad,” she added. “Empathy, love and support I welcome with an open heart, but please not sadness or sympathy. I hope instead it gives you strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and that is what I will continue to do. Always.”
Lindsey also took a moment to recall her crash.
“When I think back on my crash, I didn’t stand in the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences. I knew what I was doing. I chose to take a risk. Every skier in that starting gate took the same risk. Because even if you are the strongest person in the world, the mountain always holds the cards,” she wrote.
“I was willing to risk and push and sacrifice for something I knew I was absolutely capable of doing. I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret. I never want to cross finish line and say,“what if?” And to be perfectly honest, I was stronger physically in that moment than I have been often in the past. Certainly stronger than I was when I ended career in 2019 where I got a bronze medal in the World Championships. And mentally…. Mentally I was perfect. Clear, focused, hungry, aggressive yet completely calm… just as I had practiced over the past few months when I was on the podium in every downhill this season. 2 wins and leading the standings… that was all a test to prepare me for the Olympics. Mentally, I was more ready than I have ever been.”
Lindsey concluded, “But just because I was ready, that didn’t guarantee me anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed. That’s the gamble of chasing your dreams, you might fall but if you don’t try you’ll never know.”
“So please, don’t feel sad. The ride was worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night I don’t have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains. I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will. ????????❤️,” she added.
While she didn’t place in the Olympics this year, she does hold three medals from past Olympics, including a gold in the downhill.
After her crash, Lindsey‘s dad told press that “there will be no more ski races” for her.