Lindsey Vonn Reflects on Olympic Crash

Quick Smiles:

• Lindsey Vonn shares heartfelt reflections after her crash at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
• Despite injury, Vonn expresses pride and resilience, offering encouraging words to fans.
• Breezy Johnson captures a historic win for Team USA, earning the country’s first medal of the Games.

Lindsey Vonn spoke out for the first time since her crash at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, clarifying that her ruptured ACL did not cause the accident. The gold medalist’s run was cut short just 13.4 seconds into her race, and she was evacuated by helicopter after the incident.

Her crash happened just nine days after she suffered an ACL injury, but Vonn explained it played no part in her fall. She revealed the accident occurred because her arm hooked inside a gate while skiing too close, which resulted in twisting her body.

“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy (tale), it was just life.”

“I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.”

She continued.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

Vonn confirmed she fractured her tibia and will need several surgeries.

Despite the setback and pain, she holds no regrets about racing and treasures standing at the start gate with a chance for victory.

“Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself.”

“I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.”

The champion emphasized the importance of courage and taking chances.

“I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself.”

“Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”

Although Vonn missed her goal of becoming the oldest Alpine skier to win an Olympic medal, Team USA’s Breezy Johnson secured the event’s first U.S. medal in 16 years.

Johnson reflected on both her win and Vonn’s situation, drawing from her own past injury experiences.

“My heart goes out to her. It’s particularly difficult because we all love this track so much.”

“We race here at World Cup level every year. We call it a ‘classic track,’ so we come here all the time.”

“It’s like your favorite dog biting you. It really hurts that much worse.”

She added that the historic medal win still feels surreal.

“It definitely has not sunk in yet, but it’s been a crazy whirlwind. I was joking yesterday that I don’t know that I’m always the best downhill skier in the world, but maybe (in) February I can’t be beat.”

Let Lindsey Vonn’s courage and Breezy Johnson’s achievement inspire you to take bold steps forward, no matter the obstacles.

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