It was over sooner than expected, and in heartbreaking fashion.
Quickly after leaving the start gate, Lindsey Vonn flew off a roll on the women’s Olympic downhill course and failed to stick the landing early Sunday morning on a sunny, clear day in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
The crowd was completely silent for the decorated US skier, who had completed a pair of training runs just a week after completely rupturing her ACL in her left knee.
Following the crash, Vonn was down on the course for several minutes and the race was put on hold while medical personnel tended to her.
Broadcast cameras panned to Vonn’s family, including her father Alan Kildow and her four younger siblings, as they waited to hear or see any updates.
Vonn was eventually airlifted off the course, and fellow racers and fans cheered for the three-time Olympic medalist.
The 41-year-old was willing to risk absolutely everything for another chance at gold, and the effort has brought the Olympic comeback that has captivated the world to a crushing end.
After about 20 minutes, the race resumed.
American Breezy Johnson — the defending world champion and the racer who paced the field in Saturday’s training run — took over the top of the podium with a time of 1:36.10 after being the sixth racer to go down the course.
At the time of writing, Johnson held first place, followed by Germany’s Emma Aicher (1:36.14) and Austria’s Cornelia Hütter (1:36.96).
Fellow American and a dark horse for a medal, Jackie Wiles, is waiting to race with bib No. 24.
Vonn previously won gold in the women’s downhill at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. She also holds a bronze from the 2010 Super-G and a bronze in the 2018 downhill in PyeongChang.
