A week after rupturing the ACL in her left knee, Lindsey Vonn took her first big test with a training run down the Olympia delle Tofane downhill course on Friday, two days before her first race at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The run marked a major moment for Vonn, who has been fiercely training to compete with her injured knee.
During her training run, Vonn got tight with her line midway down and only narrowly cleared a gate but she led at the final checkpoints, then stood up out of her tuck before the finish. She traded fist pumps and a hug with teammate Breezy Johnson, who came down ninth, just before her, after a delay because of fog.
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Vonn told reporters the run went well.
In the moments before, Vonn appeared to be unfazed, even at one point line dancing with her teammates during the delay.
Vonn is skiing at the Milan Cortina Games with a large brace covering her knee. She has been clear since her crash last week in Switzerland that she would go forward despite an injury that many athletes would consider a season- or even a career-ender.
“Nothing makes me happier! No one would have believed I would be here,” Vonn wrote on social media before her run. “But I made it!! I’m here, I’m smiling and no matter what, I know how lucky I am. I’m not going to waste this chance. Let’s go get it!!”
Her ability to ski despite the injury remained in question prior to the training run, however.
Dr. Brian Cole, an orthopedic surgeon at Rush Orthopedics, said while ACL injuries can be painful, elite athletes can recover from them.
“There is not a lot of precedent, but the answer is yes,” he told NBC Chicago. “I can give you countless examples in the NBA or other high-level sports where people will tear their ACL and continue to compete within a very short time.”
The ACL is located behind the knee, helping bones to stay in alignment and helping the brain to know where the knee is positioned relative to the rest of a person’s leg.
Around 200,000 people a year suffer ACL injuries, but Cole, who is an avid skier himself said Vonn, with whom he has consulted, is not your ordinary athlete.
“You can’t take away from the fact that it’s Lindsey Vonn,” he said. “There is a psychological aspect and a temperament aspect where athletes can shine.”
The Minnesota star had a partial titanium replacement inserted in her right knee in 2024 and then returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement. She crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics in Crans-Montana last Friday. She was airlifted off the course only to post on social media later that day: “My Olympic dream is not over.”
With Thursday’s opening training session canceled due to heavy snowfall, there was one session remaining, on Friday, before Sunday’s downhill.
Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins in Cortina.
Here’s how to watch her live these Games:
What events is Lindsey Vonn in at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Vonn is set to compete in two individual events: the downhill and super-G.
What is Lindsey Vonn’s schedule at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Women’s downhill (medal event): Feb. 8 at 4:30 a.m. CT Women’s super-G (medal event): Feb. 12 at 4:30 a.m. CTThis story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
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