American skier Lindsey Vonn has suffered a horrific crash in the downhill event at the Winter Olympics. The 41-year-old was competing for Team USA, despite suffering a ruptured ACL ahead of the Mlian Cortina Games.
The former gold medalist had been one of the favourites to win the event prior to her pre-tournament injury. Vonn retired from the sport in 2019 but a partial knee replacement in 2024 led to a comeback. Her Olympic hopes were rocked by a crash in late January, though she vowed to continue and completed her mandatory training laps earlier this week. However, what would have been a fairytale story ended in agony for Vonn, as she lay motionless on the slopes during the women’s downhill skiing final. The incident prompted an emotional response on the BBC’s TV commentary.
“I actually feel guilty that I am this emotional,” commentator Chemmy Alcott said on the BBC as she broke down in tears. “When we thought about the end of this story, we never thought and never believed that it would end in her in a clump at the side of the piece, not moving.
“What we saw is the top section is running very fast. The left-footer is really hard for healthy athletes. She is trying to throw herself down this, gunning for the podium. She doesn’t have a left knee, she drops her hip back and this is an absolute nightmare. It is an absolute nightmare.
“The whole world is watching and we wanted to see her come through the finish smiling, because she was fast, we wanted to see her take on this challenge, it is just really tough.”
The commentator added: “I feel so bad that I feel this way because her family and all over her team… it is so sad. We have to be realistic. The risk was really really high for her to take on the G-force of this downhill.
“The risk she faced when you fall are double that. Her body will not be able to withstand that. The crowd here, everyone is feeling it. There is intermitten clapping and I think that is hop that she is going to get up.
“But then the screen comes on and we see all the medical staff around here. They have actually had to put on some background noise because it is quite uncomfortable.”