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Following Fifth Surgery On Broken Leg, Lindsey Vonn Speaks Out And Makes Heartbreaking Admission
Lindsey Vonn shared a health update after undergoing her fifth operation following her alpine skiing crash at the Winter Olympics.
Vonn broke her leg on February 8 when she lost control a few seconds into her downhill run on the slopes of Cortina, Italy.
The Minnesota native had previously taken home three medals in 2010 and 2018, and challenged herself to compete at her final Olympics at the age of 41.
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Highlights
- Lindsey Vonn has undergone a six-hour surgery to repair her broken leg following her accident at the Winter Olympics.
- The alpine skier recently returned to the United States after undergoing four surgeries in Italy.
- Vonn expressed no regret over her decision to compete in the Olympics, calling alpine skiing “an incredibly dangerous sport.
Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn provided an update on her broken leg after undergoing a fifth surgery
Image credits: lindseyvonn
After undergoing four surgeries in Italy, Vonn was discharged from the hospital and given approval to fly home, where she recently had another procedure to repair her broken tibia.
“Just a quick update… my last surgery went well,” she wrote on X on Friday (February 20).
“It took a little over 6 hours. I have been recovering from the surgery but pain has been hard to manage. Making slow progress, but I hope I can be out of the hospital soon. Thank you all for the support.”
Image credits: Getty/Millo Moravski/Agence Zoom
Image credits: Getty/Julian Finney
Sharing X-rays of her leg, Vonn wrote on Instagram that her leg “required a lot of plates and screws to put back together” and that she has not yet been discharged from the hospital.
The ski racer announced on Monday that she had returned to the United States and thanked the medical staff in Italy and her loved ones for supporting her throughout the ordeal.
She posted a video taken by her sister that showed the athlete doing physical therapy at the hospital and being fed dinner.
The 41-year-old skier broke her leg on February 8 after clipping a gate just seconds into her downhill run in Cortina
Image credits: lindseyvonn
@bleacherreport Lindsey Vonn is back home following her severe crash at Winter Olympics (via lindseyvonn/IG) #olympics#lindseyvonn#skiing#sports♬ original sound – bleacherreport
“’My leg is still in pieces…but I’m finally HOME!,” she captioned the post. “I’m slowly coming back to life, back to basics and the simple things in life that mean the most.”
Vonn clipped a gate 13 seconds into her run, resulting in a spinning crash. She remained on the Cortina course for approximately 10 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter and airlifted to a hospital.
Image credits: lindseyvonn
Image credits: lindseyvonn
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulting in my crash,” the Olympian explained on Instagram.
The gold medalist stated that she had no regrets about competing at the Games, even though some people questioned her decision to participate nine days after suffering an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury.
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Before the Olympics, the skier insisted that her knee felt stable and strong, and that she had spent the previous week doing intense rehab exercises.
“Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk,” she admitted after the crash, stating that alpine skiing “always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.”
Vonn described her fifth and final Olympic appearance as a “gamble” worth taking
Image credits: lindseyvonn
Vonn stressed that every skier takes risks and even the most skilled ones can suffer an accident because “the mountain always holds the cards.”
She has also referred to her Olympic dream—her fifth and final appearance—as a “gamble” and said, “You might fall, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.”
Image credits: lindseyvonn
Asked about Vonn’s injury, her sister, Karin Kildow, said she’s taking her recovery “one day at a time” and highlighted the skier’s strength.
In addition to the accident that cut her Olympic participation short, the 41-year-old suffered another loss when her dog, Leo, passed away after battling cancer.
Image credits: lindseyvonn
“This has been an incredibly hard few days. Probably the hardest [of my] life,” Vonn shared. “As I [lay] in my hospital bed the day after my crash, we said goodbye to my big boy.”
Vonn adopted Leo from an animal shelter in 2014 after he was hit by a car. Her dog had accompanied her for her sporting highs and lows, including the ACL injury that caused her to miss the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
Amid her recovery, Vonn also mourned the loss of her dog of 13 years, Leo
Image credits: lindseyvonn
“We have been through so much together in 13 years. It’s going to be a while before I emotionally process things, but I know he will always be with me.”
As she remains focused on her recovery, the skier, who won gold in downhill in 2010, is optimistic that she’ll be back on the slopes one day, even if it’s not for a competition.
Image credits: Getty/Harry How
“Please, don’t feel sad. The ride was worth the fall,” she expressed. “I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will.”
People wished Lindsey Vonn a speedy recovery after her unfortunate Olympic accident
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