Lindsey Vonn Drops Inspirational Post After Surgery for Injury from Crash At 2026 Winter Olympics

American skiier Lindsey Vonn said in a Saturday Instagram post she wants viewers to take away strength, not sadness, from the crash that ended her quest for a fourth Olympic medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Vonn, who was skiing on a torn ACL, had to be airlifted off the course with a leg injury after crashing 13 seconds into her first run in the women's downhill final on Feb. 8.

"I have been reading a lot of messages and comments saying that what has happened to me makes them sad. Please, don't be sad," Vonn wrote in her Saturday post. "Empathy, love and support I welcome with an open heart, but please not sadness or sympathy. I hope instead it gives you strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and that is what I will continue to do. Always."

She concluded, "Please, don't feel sad. The ride was worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night I don't have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains. I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will."

Vonn, who underwent partial knee replacement surgery in her right knee in April 2024, made her successful comeback this season to earn a spot on the United States Olympic team.

She suffered a torn left ACL during a Jan. 30 training run in Switzerland that took place less than a week before the start of the Olympics.

Vonn wrote in her Saturday post that she knew what she was doing and "chose to take a risk" by deciding to compete in the Olympic downhill despite her injury.

"I was willing to risk and push and sacrifice for something I knew I was absolutely capable of doing. I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret," Vonn wrote.

She added that she felt she was "stronger physically in that moment than I have been often in the past," including when she announced her plans to retire back in February 2019, as well as mentally "more ready than I have ever been."

Vonn previously described her injury as a "complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly."

The American skiier has been providing updates throughout her surgical process, including in a Wednesday Instagram post shared after a third procedure on her leg in which she said "success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago."

In her latest update, Vonn said her latest procedure "went well" and that she will be able to return to the United States.