Lindsey Vonn, 41 year old skier unexpectedly tumbled down a hill and broke her leg, and injured her rebuilt knee on Feb. 8th during her downhill event in Milan at the Winter Olympics. Vonn’s incident occurred after losing control of her motion resulting in falling and continuing to roll down the slope and landing on her back. Vonn’s teammate, Bella Wright, a two-time Olympian skier from Salt Lake City adds that she saw “Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm”, in cause of her accident. Wright’s expertise in the sport contributes to how shocking it is when you make one mistake in the downhill event.
The audience reported hearing screams of pain coming from Vonn, moments after the fall. On site there was “gasps and groans from fans” before medical attention arrived to where Vonn laid. When the medical professionals on site found Vonn, they were able to comfort and begin treating the Olympian as best as possible before being taken away from a helicopter 13 minutes later.
Several reporters and viewers had seen the horrific accident of Vonn, who was the first champion of the downhill event. This tragedy is ironic considering Vonn was feeling confident about how she would perform. Vonn told reporters prior to the downhill event that she believed that “This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far”. Little did she know that she was going to face major leg injuries doing the sport she is passionate about. Thus, providing such sadness for Vonn’s family and the potential medal that would make her a 4-time olympic medalist.
Vonn is recently in recovery of a partial knee replacement from an injury from severe loss of cartilage in her knee from previous skiing injuries that led up to the one now. Therefore, Vonn was at risk if she had any leg or knee injuries going forward when competing in the skiing event.
Vonn has suffered a tibial fracture in her left leg, professionals suggest she obtain multiple surgeries to fix her fracture. Dr. Mark Schultzel, an orthopedic surgeon at Sharp Memorial Hospital, and member of the U.S. olympic team medical staff. Schultzel is a physician who has previously worked with Vonn and began by ruefully saying, “that would leave her off her leg for six to eight weeks, minimum”. Vonn had undergone 4 surgeries in Italy following her crash. Following those she would need one more once she arrived back in America.
Vonn was on her way back to the U.S.A by being transported by a private jet. Vonn has optimism following her surgeries and her journey back to America. It was reported that “Vonn gave a triumphant fist pump and then victory sign” as she was being loaded onto the plane.
Many athletes would be disappointed at the idea of not participating in their sport for potentially the rest of their lives going forward. Vonn’s optimism will hopefully follow her throughout the entirety of her healing process. The olympians truly put their lives at risk when participating in their events and being able to show their athletic abilities to all. It’s crucial for Vonn to show her resilience throughout her journey in rehabilitation.
