Lindsey Vonn recently suffered a serious leg injury during the women’s downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

What injury happened to Lindsey Vonn?

  • She crashed in the Olympic downhill in Cortina and was airlifted from the course by helicopter.
  • Reports from Italian ski media and ski outlets say she sustained a fracture to her left leg, described specifically as a femur fracture (thigh bone), though some early details were still being confirmed.
  • This came just days after she had already torn the ACL in her left knee in a crash at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, along with bone bruises and meniscal injuries.

In short, her 2026 Olympic run was marked by two major injuries in quick succession:

  1. A torn ACL (plus associated knee damage) in her left knee about a week before the Games.
  1. A serious left leg fracture in the Olympic downhill crash itself, widely reported as a femur fracture.

Latest status and condition

  • After the downhill crash, she underwent surgery on her left leg in Italy and was monitored in intensive care, with doctors saying her life was never in danger.
  • Official updates from U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Olympic channels describe her as being in “stable condition” and “in good hands” with American and Italian doctors.

Context and why it’s such a big story

  • Vonn had come out of retirement for a high-profile Olympic comeback at age 41, following a partial knee replacement in 2024 that allowed her to return to high-level skiing.
  • Even before the downhill crash, her torn ACL just days earlier had already turned her 2026 Olympics into a dramatic “can she still do it?” storyline.
  • Many fans and commentators now see this downhill crash and leg fracture as likely the final chapter of her Olympic career, though people also note that Vonn has made big comebacks before.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.