Lindsey Vonn Crashes Brutally Days After Her Patriotic Message Amid Team USA Divide

Lindsey Vonn had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) nine days ago during a pre-Olympic race in Cras-Montana, Switzerland.

Lindsey Vonn Crashes Brutally Days After Her Patriotic Message Amid Team USA Divide

Lindsey Vonn’s right pole clipping the gate of the ski pole before she crashed out (Image via AP)

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What began as a highly anticipated medal challenge turned into one of the most alarming scenes of the competition, as Lindsey Vonn crashed just 13.4 seconds into her downhill run. The four-time Olympic medallist, nursing a fully-ruptured ACL, was airlifted off the Tofane course in Cortina for further medical evaluation.

Lindsey Vonn, coming into the first big jump of the race, clipped her right pole on a gate, altering her momentum and direction. Though there was a heightened probability of Vonn’s quest for a gold medal ending in a crash, it was still a scary moment to see the 2010 Vancouver gold medalist screaming in agony. She remained on the course for fifteen minutes, being shifted into a stretcher and airlifted off the course to a nearby hospital.

It is currently unknown whether the 41-year-old will return to the competition. According to the latest update from the US Ski and Snowboarding team, she’s taken for a medical evaluation. Vonn’s sister, Karin Kildow, also told NBC that the skier is currently under evaluation and the family has yet to hear anything beyond what’s known.

Kildow voiced her concern, particularly with the stretchers coming onto the scene. Kildow told NBC’s Cara Banks:

That’s definitely the last thing we wanted to see. When that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay, and it was scary. When you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign.

She also lauded her sister for her striking confidence, stating that Vonn “dared greatly, and put it all out there.” Mikaela Shiffrin and figure skater Scott Hamilton wished her a speedy recovery following the scary crash. Hamilton praised the skier for her resilience, enduring a painful ligament tear and pushing forward with her performance.

Cande Moreno of Andorra also crashed during the competition and was evacuated from the mountain by air rescue.

Breezy Johnson secures gold for Team USA in the same event

In the women’s downhill in alpine skiing, Breezy Johnson put the United States of America on the points table with their first medal of any color in the Milan Cortina Games. And most wonderfully, it was a gold to begin their medal campaign.

Breezy Johnson
Breezy Johnson of Wyoming won her first Olympic medal with a gold in women’s downhill in alpine skiing (Image via Fox News)

The 30-year-old Wyoming native finished the course in 1:36.10, a time that none followed was able to match. Germany’s Emma Aicher, 22, came close with four hundredths of a second between her and Johnson. Sofia Goggia, who won the event in 2018 and placed third in Beijing, once again took home a bronze medal. Goggia was 0.59 seconds behind Johnson.

With the bronze, Goggia became the first and only individual with three medals in men’s or women’s downhill. The 33-year-old from Lombardy also commented on Vonn’s devastating crash after the competition. Goggia said:

I’m sorry that she was taken away by helicopter. I didn’t see any of it. They told me the crash was not that good. I just give her my best wishes.

Meanwhile, Team USA’s Jacqueline Wiles tied for fourth with Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, with 0.27 seconds separating them from a podium. USA’s other skier, Isabella Wright, finished outside the top twenty with more than two seconds of difference from the champion. In men’s downhill, Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen bagged the first gold of the games while Italians Giovanni Franzini and Dominik Paris completed the podium.

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