Lindsey Vonn airlifted from course after crash in final downhill before Olympics

Source: The Guardian

Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the final World Cup downhill before the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, leaving the American skiing great limping and clutching her left knee as organizers abandoned the race amid worsening conditions.

The 41-year-old lost control after landing a jump on the upper section of the course in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, skidding sideways into the safety netting as snow fell steadily and visibility deteriorated. Vonn’s airbag deployed on impact and she remained down for several moments while medical staff attended to her on the piste.

Vonn eventually stood and was able to ski away, but did so gingerly. She repeatedly took weight off her left leg, using her poles to steady herself, and stopped several times on the run down to check her knee. At the finish area she was met by her teammate Jacqueline Wiles, with the two sharing a long embrace before Vonn limped into a medical tent for further evaluation. She was later airlifted from the finish area by helicopter, suspended by a rope as she was transported away across the Swiss Alps.

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Race officials cancelled the downhill shortly after Vonn’s crash, with three of the first six skiers having fallen in difficult conditions on a course that had already been shortened because of the weather. Austria’s Nina Ortlieb crashed in the same upper section as Vonn but was able to ski away, while Norway’s Marte Monsen hit the nets near the bottom of the course and was taken away on a stretcher with facial injuries.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jan/30/lindsey-vonn-crash-final-downhill-milan-cortina-olympics