Lindsey Vonn still awaits ACL surgery after Olympics crash
Seven months after crashing at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Lindsey Vonn told TNT Sports she still needs ACL surgery and faces another nine months of recovery. The 41-year-old Alpine star tore her ACL in Switzerland on Jan. 30 and suffered a complex tibia fracture seconds into her Olympic downhill on Feb. 8.
Key Takeaways
- Vonn is still waiting on ACL repair surgery, likely in November or later this winter.
- She expects roughly nine more months of recovery after the ACL procedure.
- Her Olympic crash on Feb. 8 followed a torn ACL from a Jan. 30 World Cup crash in Crans-Montana.
- Multiple surgeries were required to treat a complex tibia fracture that nearly required amputation.
- Vonn has not decided whether she will retire or attempt another comeback to ski racing.
What happened to Lindsey Vonn at the Olympics?
Lindsey Vonn's path to the Milan Cortina Games was already extraordinary. After retiring in 2019, she returned to World Cup racing following a 2024 knee replacement, won her 84th career downhill in December 2025, and entered the Olympics as a medal favorite despite tearing her ACL in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, just days before the opening ceremony.
On Feb. 8, Vonn reached the starting gate for the women's downhill—the goal she had pursued through her improbable comeback. Thirteen seconds into her run, she hooked a gate, spun through the air, and tumbled violently into the snow. She was airlifted off the mountain and spent eight days in a local hospital recovering from a complex tibia fracture.
When will Lindsey Vonn have ACL surgery?
Speaking to TNT Sports on Sunday, Aug. 30, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Vonn said she is still preparing for another operation. She told reporters she is hoping to have ACL surgery in November or sometime this winter, according to The New York Times.
Once the ACL is repaired, Vonn expects another long rehabilitation period. She said that after the procedure she will face another long road ahead. That timeline could push full recovery into next summer or fall—roughly nine months after the surgery.
Will Lindsey Vonn race again?
Vonn has repeatedly said she does not know what comes next. In April, she told the Associated Press she may retire and may never race again—and that would be completely fine. But she added that she was not in a position emotionally to make that decision at that point.
Despite the uncertainty, Vonn sounded grateful for her current progress. She said she feels great and is very thankful for where she is now. She shared the update at the U.S. Open, appearing in public while continuing her recovery. Long rehab arcs for elite athletes often intersect with advances in sports medicine—a theme we track alongside broader breakthroughs in our Future Tech & AI Wonders coverage.
How did Vonn's Olympic comeback end so abruptly?
Before the Olympic crash, Vonn insisted her earlier ACL tear did not cause the downhill accident. She wrote on social media that her ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with the crash. She added that standing in the starting gate was an incredible feeling she would never forget, even though the run ended in intense physical pain.
The Crans-Montana injury on Jan. 30 came in the final World Cup race before the Winter Games. Vonn slipped on an early turn, slid into netting, and later confirmed the ACL tear—but still chose to compete in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, after two successful training runs.