Lindsey Vonn has been recuperating for months from a terrifying crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics that nearly cost her a leg.
The Olympian, who came out of a six-year retirement to compete in February 2026, was airlifted off a downhill course in Italy and flown home for a cascade of surgeries.
Scroll below for everything Vonn has said about her recovery:
What Happened at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Vonn crashed roughly 13 seconds into her women’s downhill run on February 8, 2026, suffering a complex fracture of her left tibia. She had entered the race already injured, having torn her ACL nine days earlier during a World Cup race in Switzerland.
Vonn later wrote via Instagram that she was “simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate,” adding that her ACL and past injuries “had nothing to do with [her] crash whatsoever.”
She was airlifted off the course and taken to Ca’ Foncello hospital for her initial orthopedic operation.
A Fasciotomy Saved Lindsey Vonn’s Leg
Vonn underwent four surgeries in Italy before being flown back to the United States on February 17, 2026, for several more operations. Days after returning home, she posted an X-ray of her leg reinforced with plates and screws alongside the caption, “I’m bionic for real now.”
In a social media post after her release, Vonn credited a Colorado orthopedic specialist with preventing an amputation.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated,” Vonn wrote. “He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he cut open both sides of my leg and kind of filleted it open so to speak, let it breathe, and he saved me.”
Lindsey Vonn’s Grueling Rehab Routine
In an interview with The Athletic published April 9, 2026, Vonn described her six-days-a-week schedule: rehab at home from 9 to 11 a.m., about two hours in a hyperbaric chamber with decompression and workouts from roughly 5 to 6:30 p.m. Scar tissue from the pins stabilizing her bone made bending the leg especially painful. At that point, she was transitioning from a wheelchair to crutches and a walker, and could put only 30 percent of her weight on the leg.
“There were so many layers to it. That made it challenging,” Vonn said. “And then of course, when you have such slow progress, that inevitably becomes more mentally challenging as well.”
By March 2026, Vonn began posting videos of her physical therapy sessions and recovery bike workouts. Six weeks after the crash, she shared a clip of herself doing pull-ups.
Lindsey Vonn Is Walking Again
Vonn told People in July 2026 that she had spent roughly three and a half months unable to walk without assistance.
“I was in a wheelchair for so long. I was on crutches for so long,” she said, recalling how she “got very emotional” the day she walked on her own.
Amid her recovery, Vonn also underwent ACL surgery.
“I’m trying to get as strong as possible. And once I get my ACL, then I’ll have another long road ahead of me. But for now, I feel great, and I’m very thankful for that,” she told TNT Sports at the U.S. Open in August 2026. “I’m hoping that I can have the [ACL] surgery in November, but it’ll be in the winter sometime, and then it’ll be another nine months until I’m fully recovered from that, so I can’t really look beyond that.”
Lindsey Vonn’s 9th Surgery
Vonn underwent another procedure in November 2026.
“This day has been looming on my calendar for a while now… and the time has finally come,” Vonn shared via Instagram one day before her surgery was scheduled. “I’ve been nervous and anxious about it, but at the same time excited to hopefully put this behind me. This will be my 9th surgery and I’m praying my last.”
She added, “There are still things that could change in surgery so we will have to wait and see how it goes but I will keep you posted on my progress when I am out of surgery and recovering.”
The next day, Vonn confirmed the operation was successful and showed off what had come out of her leg.
“Got all this s*** out of my leg 🙌🏻,” Vonn posted via her Instagram Story, displaying the metal plates and screws that were removed during the procedure.
Vonn further noted that the surgery went “well” and that she would be providing an update about her condition “soon.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
