Talk about a brutal year, man. Lindsey Vonn, the legendary skier, is still facing an incredibly long road to recovery after a pair of absolutely devastating crashes earlier this year left her with a torn ACL and a severely broken leg. Seriously, we’re talking about a situation so bad her leg had to be saved from amputation, and now she’s looking at yet *another* major surgery.
The Crashes That Rocked Her Season
Back in December, Vonn punched her ticket for her fifth Olympic appearance, which is just insane. But then January hit like a freight train. She tore her ACL in a World Cup race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on January 30. That was the last downhill before the Olympics started just a week later. Most folks would call it there, right? Not Vonn. The American Alpine skiing star, at 41 years old, opted to compete through that ACL injury at the Milan Cortina Games. Can you even imagine the guts?
Then, just 13 seconds into her first run at the Olympics, tragedy struck again. Another violent crash, and this time, it was even worse. She had to be airlifted off the course. Doctors performed multiple surgeries just to repair a “complex tibia fracture” and literally save her leg from amputation. That’s how close we came to losing her leg entirely.
An ACL Still Not Fixed and a Long Road Ahead
You’d think after all that, her ACL would be dealt with, right? Nope. In a recent interview at the US Open with TNT Sports, Vonn dropped the bomb: her ACL still hasn’t been repaired. “I feel good, I’m getting better. I still have another surgery, so I’m trying to get as strong as possible,” she told Zack Pierce of The Athletic. “And once I get my ACL, then I’ll have another long road ahead of me. But for now, I feel great, and I’m very thankful for that.” She’s still keeping her head up, but man, that’s heavy.
She’s hoping to get that next surgery done in November, or at least sometime this winter. And get this: *that* surgery will kick off another nine months of recovery. Nine months! From just the ACL. “I don’t really know what the future holds,” she admitted, “but like I said, I’m just thankful for where I am right now.”
Vonn’s already given us a legendary career, with four World Cup championships and an Olympic gold medal in 2010. For now, her focus is squarely on healing. We’re all just wishing her the best on this incredibly tough road to recovery.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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