It only takes a few lines to introduce Lindsey Vonn. At least she needs little space: “Olympic champion, New-York-Times-Best-selling author, founder of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, entrepreneur, investor and dog mom.” This is her brief characterization Instagram.
These days, the 41-year-old American is, above all, this: the star of the Winter Olympics. She is this not only because of her impressive career – she won a World Championship medal for the first time 19 years ago. It is mainly because of the daily medical bulletins. A few days ago announced The alpine skier said she was suffering from a “complete tear” of her anterior cruciate ligament after a fall. She also suffered bone bruises and, probably not so important, “an additional meniscus injury.”
Racing down the downhill slopes in Cortina d’Ampezzo with a freshly torn cruciate ligament seems more than just risky to most observers. Lindsey Vonn, on the other hand, is determined to risk it this Friday, February 6th. Why is she so optimistic? “The knee isn’t swollen. I feel better than I did at the World Cup in 2019, and I didn’t have a torn cruciate ligament.” Well then.
I feel better than in 2019. And I didn’t tear my cruciate ligament
Lindsey Vonn
Vonn’s sports career is not only characterized by success, but almost more of injuries. There is hardly a surgical condition that she doesn’t already have in her collection. When she returned in 2024 after temporarily announcing the end of her career, she started with a knee prosthesis. Why she does this may be revealed by the title of the book she successfully marketed: “Strong is the new beautiful,” a fitness guide. And Lindsey Vonn really is strong.
European fans often wonder why the woman from the US state of Minnesota speaks almost perfect German. That has a lot to do with her standing in alpine skiing: she is with Red Bull under contract, and the Austrian beverage company with a penchant for extreme sports markets them so consistently in the Alpine region that German lessons accompany their careers.
It is impossible to predict what Vonn’s sporting chances will be in alpine skiing at the Olympics. On her last descent in Crans-Montana she crashed into the safety fence and tore her cruciate ligament. She is still a world-class skier.