Lindsey Vonn needed more than one surgery after her horrifying crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday.
The 41-year-old Olympic skier underwent a second procedure on her fractured leg following her crash 13 seconds into Sunday’s downhill race, Reuters reported.
After Vonn crashed, she was airlifted to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso. There, she was operated on by a team of orthopedic and plastic surgeons, while Vonn’s personal doctor only assisted the operations.
It was originally reported that Vonn would only need one surgery to stabilize her leg. Reuters added that the second surgery was done to prevent swelling and maintain blood flow. She was later moved to intensive care for “extra privacy,” The Daily Mail reported.
Before her horrific injury, Vonn was competing with a ruptured ACL she suffered in another crash during a training race in Switzerland.
Despite posting on X the ligament was “100% gone,” she announced afterward that she would still be competing in Sunday’s race.
Then came Sunday’s catastrophe.
However, longtime family friend Martina Sailer told The Post in a text message that the crash was not a result of her ACL injury. “It could have happened to anyone,” she emphasized.
Sailer added that she was “crushed” after seeing Vonn’s crash. She mentioned she believed Vonn could be a contender for gold even after her injury.
“I told my girls that not every story has a happy ending, but Lindsey should have no regrets — what she accomplished this year was spectacular,” Sailer said. “With time, she will recover and write the rest of her story.”
Vonn was looking to add to her 2010 Olympic gold medal in the downhill event, entering as the only American to ever win the event. She retired in 2019 but opted to go for one more crack at the title.
Instead, after Vonn’s sudden exit, fellow American Breezy Johnson captured victory, Team USA’s first gold medal of the 2026 Olympics.
