United States' Lindsey Vonn attends a press conference by the US ski team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, February 3, 2026. FATIMA SHBAIR / AP
US ski star Lindsey Vonn said Tuesday, February 3, that she thinks she can compete at the Winter Olympics despite rupturing a knee ligament while crashing out in her most recent World Cup race.
Vonn's Olympic comeback, at the age of 41 and with a titanium implant in her right knee, is one of the storylines of the Milan-Cortina Games. But she was nearly forced to drop out of the Games after losing her balance and crashing into the netting in the World Cup downhill in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on Friday and damaging her other knee.
"Last Friday in Crans Montana in the last World Cup I completely ruptured my ACL," Vonn told reporters in Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the Olympic women's alpine skiing events will be held. "Today I went skiing and considering how my knee feels, I feel stable, I feel strong. My knee is not swollen and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete [in the downhill race] on Sunday. This is not obviously what I had hoped for... I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today. But I know there's still a chance, and as long as there's a chance I will try."
