Lindsey Vonn and a Lesson of Resilience
- Caitlyn Wagner
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
When anybody mentions skiing, it’s impossible not to think of Lindsey Vonn. One of only 6 women to win a World Championship in all 5 disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Vonn has cemented herself as a name to know in the skiing world, but that’s not all she’s known for. Vonn may be decorated with every medal imaginable, but she has also seen her fair share of injuries, and, even at age 41, is showing the world that every athlete is still human.
Injuries and Going Off Track
Like every elite athlete, Vonn has seen her fair share of injuries. Unlike every elite athlete, Vonn has shown numerous times her dedication to her sport and played through many of them. The first time she did this was when she was merely 21 while competing in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Vonn went down during her second training run for the downhill event, and subsequently was hospitalized overnight with a bruised hip and thigh, and an aching back. Vonn ultimately pushed through and returned to the slope within 2 days to finish 8th, however, and this display of resilience earned her the U.S Olympic Spirit Award from voters and fellow athletes.
The 2007 World Championships saw the first of many ACL injuries to Vonn’s knee: during training, she suffered a crash that caused a low-grade sprain in her right ACL. This ended her season early, but she wasn’t free from injuries quite yet. While training for the 2010 Winter Olympics, she bruised her shin yet competed despite the severe pain, which she classified as ‘excruciating’. During these games, she also broke 4 fingers in a crash, but, true to her character, managed to bring home a gold medal for her country.
Vonn may have been able to compete through broken fingers or bruised shins, but at the 2013 World Championships, she crashed in the super-G and, as a result, tore her ACL and MCL in her right knee. These were injuries even she could not compete with. Despite essentially requiring her entire knee to be reconstructed, she told the media that she would be ready for the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, her plans were set to change, as Vonn re-injured her knee again while skiing and felt her knee was too unstable for the 2014 Games.
Injuries continued to plague Vonn in the 2016-2017 season. In the fall of 2016, she announced she had fractured her upper arm and subsequently missed three months of the season. At the age of 32, Vonn perhaps realized the toll that her skiing career had taken on her body. In 2018, after bouncing back from numerous other small injuries in training that had begun to add up, Vonn announced she would retire at the end of the season.
Comeback and One Final Ride
The pandemic had strange effects on all of us, and Lindsey Vonn was no exception. Perhaps the time off in 2020 gave her time to think about her retirement, because in November of 2024, she announced she was returning to competitive skiing. Vonn cited a successful knee replacement surgery she had received that supposedly stopped the pain that had forced her to retire.
She competed in the 2024-2025 World Cup and attained her first World Cup podium since 2018, coming second in the super-G season finals. This left her feeling accomplished, and in December of 2025, she announced that she had qualified for and would compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. After becoming the oldest downhill World Cup winner at the age of 41, she had her sights set on another record: the oldest skier to win an Olympic medal.
However, not all stories have happy endings. In January 2026, just weeks before the 2026 Winter Games, Vonn suffered a crash and had to be airlifted off the course. She later confirmed that she had ruptured her ACL. Still, in typical Lindsey Vonn fashion, she also announced that she intended to compete at the Olympics in a week, despite the extensive injuries.
Many can hardly even walk after an ACL injury, so for Vonn to compete at an intense and international level after such an extensive injury sets her apart that much more from everyone else. During training, she posted videos of how she was managing her injury and showed the brace she intended to wear on her knee to stabilize it. However, despite being Lindsey Vonn, she was still human – on February 8th, in her first event of the 2026 games, she suffered another crash and was airlifted to the hospital. She later posted on social media that she had broken her left leg and received surgery to repair it.
Despite the unfortunate end to her career, absolutely nobody can look at Lindsey Vonn’s resumé and be disappointed. Over the span of her very decorated career, she pushed her physical limits, never knew when to quit, and displayed incredible resilience that set her apart from many other athletes. The 2026 Winter Olympics were supposed to be her final send-off, yet despite the ending, after everything Vonn has been through, she is still and always will be one of the greatest skiers in the world.
Edited by Olivia Feldgus