Lindsey Vonn's 2026 Winter Olympics - and perhaps her career - came to an end in crushing fashion on Sunday morning.
The 41-year-old Winter Olympian crashed out of the downhill. She lost control of her skis, flew through the air and crashed hard into the icy mountain. Vonn was down on the snow in serious pain for several minutes, as her screams of agony could be heard on NBC's broadcast. She was then airlifted off of the mountain.
Vonn's condition is not known at this time.
"She'll be OK, but it's going to be a bit of a process," said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard. "This sport's brutal and people need to remember when they're watching [that] these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast."
© Aleksandra Szmigiel/Reuters via Imagn Images
Vonn's teammate, Breezy Johnson, ended up taking home the gold medal. She held off Emma Aicher of Germany and Italy's Sofia Goggia to cap a two-fold day for the U.S. skiing team.
"I don't claim to know what she's going through, but I do know what it is to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you and to watch those dreams die," said Johnson following the race. "I can't imagine the pain that she's going through, and it's not the physical pain -- we can deal with physical pain -- but the emotional pain is something else."
Johnson added: "Lindsey was cheering for me from the helicopter."
Vonn cheered for her teammate despite crushing injury
No one would blame Vonn for only thinking about herself right now. Vonn has suffered her second crushing injury in as many weeks. Vonn, who was already skiing on a torn ACL injury, crashed out of what should be her final Winter Olympics.
But despite that, Vonn managed to still cheer for her teammate from a helicopter. That's pretty incredible character.
Vonn has a lot to be proud of.
"She is 41. She has a titanium knee. She ruptured her ACL a week ago. And she STILL got in the starting gate today. Lindsey Vonn didn’t need a medal to prove she’s the GOAT. She just proved she has the heart of a lion," one fan wrote.
It's easy to root for Lindsey Vonn, that's for sure.