Lindsey Vonn live updates: Winter Olympics latest as skiing icon moved to intensive care for ‘privacy’
The ski legend is ‘stable’ after surgery on a leg fracture and the IOC have come out to defend her decision to compete
Senior officials at the Winter Olympics have defended Lindsey Vonn’s decision to compete in Sunday’s downhill just nine days after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) - with the skiing great’s horror crash described as “a one in 1000” accident.
Vonn has undergone surgery on a leg fracture after being airlifted from the slopes and is in a “stable” condition, US officials confirmed. The 41-year-old suffered the painful fall in Cortina, ensuring no comeback from a brutal left knee injury just days out from the Games at Milano-Cortina, with her father coming out and saying that he hopes it acts as “the end of her career”.
The former gold medal winner announced her intention to compete at the Games despite retiring in 2019. Nine days before the Olympics began, Vonn ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a race at Crans-Montana which cast doubt over whether she should compete.
Vonn’s decision to race, and whether she should have been allowed to do so, has since been the subject of some debate. “This decision was really hers and her team's to take,” the International Olympic Committee’s sports director Pierre Ducrey said. “She made the decision and unfortunately it led to the injury.”
Follow all the latest updates from Milano-Cortina 2026 in our live blog below:
Winter Olympics 2026 medal table: Who is leading the standings at Milan-Cortina?
The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway in northern Italy as Milan-Cortina plays host to the century-old sporting event.
Norway are historically the most successful nation in the Winter Games and the Norwegians are once again favourites to top the medal table, having claimed 16 golds in Beijing four years ago, four more than second-placed Germany.
The USA are expected to put up a strong challenge to Norway’s dominance, while Germany and Canada are also expected to enjoy plenty of success. Host nation Italy are also hopeful of a top-10 finish in the standings, as are their Alpine neighbours France and Switzerland.
Britain have set a target of winning four to eight medals this time around, which would be a huge improvement on a disappointing haul of only two in China in 2022.
Here are the latest standings from Milan-Cortina 2026:
Winter Olympics 2026 medal table: Who is leading the standings at Milan-Cortina?
Lindsey Vonn’s father says Olympics crash is ‘the end of her career’
Lindsey Vonn’s father has declared that the American superstar will no longer race after breaking her leg at the Winter Olympics.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Alan Kildow told The Associated Press. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Kildow and the rest of Vonn’s family – including her brother and two sisters – have been with Vonn while she is being treated at a hospital in Treviso following her fall and helicopter evacuation from the course in Cortina on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn’s father says Olympics crash is ‘the end of her career’
Broken leg 'a really good outcome for Lindsey Vonn'
“As someone who lived in downhill skiing and works in it now, that is a really good outcome for Lindsey Vonn,” says former GB Alpine skier Chemmy Alcott on Vonn’s injury and crash.
“A broken leg, which she's had surgery on, it's her left leg and we're going to channel all of our energy together in her left leg which now needs an ACL and bone healing.
“If it had been her right leg with that knee replacement, it could have been really disastrous so we don't know where she's going to go from this, but we hope she takes all the time she needs,” added the former Olympian on BBC One.
Vonn required two operations on broken leg
US skier Lindsey Vonn needed two operations on the broken leg suffered in her crash yesterday, reports Reuters.
The procedures “were intended to prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow”, according to the report.
It had earlier been confirmed by the hospital in Treviso that Vonn underwent an operation to stabilise her left leg after the incident.
Winter Olympics officials launch investigation after athletes complain about broken medals
Olympic medallists at the Milano Cortina Winter Games are discovering their hard-won prizes are proving less robust than their athletic achievements, with reports emerging that the gold, silver, and bronze awards are prone to breaking.
Games organisers have now launched an investigation into a series of incidents where medals have cracked, chipped, or snapped, often shortly after being presented.
Andrea Francisi, Milano Cortina Chief Games Operations Officer, acknowledged the unusual situation on Monday.
Winter Olympics officials launch investigation into easily broken medals
Former skiers rush to defend Vonn
Several figures from the world of speed skiing have commented on Lindsey’s Vonn’s decision to race and her eventual crash, with most pros and pundits defending the American.
“I firmly believe that this has to be decided by the individual athlete,” FIS president Johan Eliasch said on Monday.
“And in her case, she certainly knows her injuries on her body better than anybody else. And if you look around here today with all the athletes, the athletes yesterday, every single athlete has a small injury of some kind.
“What is also important for people to understand, that the accident that she had yesterday, she was incredibly unlucky. It was a one in a 1,000,” Eliasch added.
Vonn’s teammate Keely Cashman added: “People that don’t know ski racing don’t really understand what happened yesterday. She hooked her arm on the gate, which twisted her around. She was going probably 70 miles an hour, and so that twists your body around. That has nothing to do with her ACL, nothing to with her knee. I think a lot of people are ridiculing that, and a lot people don’t (know) what’s going on.”
Coach Svindal hails 'brave' Vonn and reveals incredible gesture towards champion Johnson
Lindsey Vonn’s coach Aksel Lund Svindal has spoken out for the first time following the American’s horror crash yesterday, hailing her bravery before revealing what she said before being airlifted to hospital.
He wrote on Instagram: “Lindsey. You're incredibly brave. You inspire people that follow your journey and us that work closely with you every day.
“Yesterday was a tough day on the mountain. For everyone, but most of all for you.
“Still something happened that I think says everything. "Tell Breezy congrats and good job." Your teammate was in the lead, and that's the message you wanted the US ski team coaches to remember before you got airlifted to the hospital. Real character shows up in the hard moments.”
Crew who evacuated Vonn speak out
Italian ski legend claims Lindsey Vonn made critical mistake before injury disaster
Lindsey Vonn suffered a horror crash at the Winter Olympics to scupper her hopes of an age-defying comeback at Milano-Cortina 2026.
But Italian ski great Alberto Tomba insists her downfall on the slopes came after a move to race at Crans-Montana last month.
The American has been criticised over her desire to win one more race, with Tomba insisting it led to a chain of risks that eventually caught up with her in the form of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee.
The 41-year-old lost her balance in the 30 January World Cup race in Switzerland and crashed into the side netting, but Vonn defied logic and expectations to race in Cortina d'Ampezzo, setting the third fastest time on Saturday on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste with a brace on her knee. But Sunday's race saw her airlifted to hospital for surgery on a broken leg, with Tomba criticising her preparation for the Games.
"She shouldn’t have raced at Crans-Montana," Tomba told Reuters from the terrace of a hotel in Cortina. "She should have come here and trained, instead."
Italian ski legend claims Lindsey Vonn made critical mistake before disastrous injury
Lindsey Vonn's injury history
Perhaps unsurprisingly – given the nature of the sport she competes in – the latest injury suffered by Lindsey Vonn is added to a long list of problems she’s encountered during a decorated skiing career.
To give you an idea of what it takes to be the best in a sport like this:
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