The worst-case scenario for Olympian Lindsey Vonn came just seconds into the women’s downhill final in Cortina, Italy, on Sunday afternoon.
Vonn’s body struck a gate as she made her first big jump less than 13 seconds into her run, altering her momentum and direction, prompting a scary crash as she flung sideways and bombed out.
The race was on hold for more than 20 minutes as Vonn was tended to on the course. The scene at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre was eerily quiet, as thousands at the bottom of the mountain, including Vonn’s family, were left stunned and largely speechless. The worldwide feed initially caught audio of Vonn’s brutal cries from pain after her horrifying spill. Downhill skiing is the fastest and most dangerous alpine event; the Olympia delle Tofane course routinely saw Sunday’s racers eclipse 75 miles per hour as they hurled themselves down one the world-renowned venue.
Vonn was put on a stretcher and had to be airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
“Lindsey Vonn fell in the Olympic downhill and will be evaluated by medical staff,” the initial statement from U.S. Ski and Snowboard said.
A photo captured by the Associated Press shows the split second where Vonn’s critical mistake led to her crash.
Vonn, 41, was attempting to make history as the oldest woman to ever medal in the event that she took gold in back at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Vonn’s run was the most anticipated event of these Games not just because of her worldwide fame and a longstanding place among the all-time greats in her sport, but also due to the torn left ACL she suffered nine days ago in Switzerland while competing in her final pre-Olympics race. Vonn successfully made it down the same mountain and ski trail on Friday and Saturday in the lead-up to Sunday’s final.
Karin Kildow, Vonn’s sister, was interviewed on Peacock less than an hour after the crash.
“That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see,” Kildow said. “She always goes 110%, there’s never anything less, so I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes things happen. It’s a very dangerous sport.”
Another skiier, Cande Moreno of Andorra, also crashed during the race and had to be airlifted off the mountain.
Vonn is one of the greatest competitive skiers in history, with an astounding 84 World Cup wins in her career. That’s third all time to fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin (who skis a different discipline) and Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark. On Sunday, Shiffrin — who will compete in two days — posted a condolence message to Vonn.
Vonn was the 13th skier of the day and was chasing 30-year-old American Breezy Johnson, who posted the top time after racing sixth. Johnson’s 136.10 run held by race’s end. The Jackson Hole, Wyoming, native wound up producing the first gold medal for the United States of the Milan Cortina Games. She’s also only the second American woman to win gold in the history of the event, joining Vonn’s 2010 conquest.
Germany’s Emma Aicher, 22, won silver, becoming the youngest woman to medal in the women’s downhill since 1994. At 136.14, she was a mere .04 seconds behind Johnson’s winning run. Italy’s Sofia Goggia (1:36.69) took home the bronze, marking her third straight Olympics with a medal in this event; she won gold in 2018’s Pyeongchang Games and earned silver four years ago in Beijing.
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