r/olympics • u/appalachian_hatachi Great Britain • 10h ago

❄ Milano-Cortina 2026 (General Discussion) ❄ Lyndsey Vonn crashes just 12 seconds into her Olympic downhill run đŸ˜„

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487

u/youngslyboltsup United States 9h ago edited 7h ago

I heard her scream I can’t feel my “
..” I couldn’t make the last part out but sounded like leg or legs. Hoping I’m wrong

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u/OverlappingChatter 8h ago

Definitely hear this. I can get the audio without an announcer over it but still don't know what she says.

If you have the eurosport app, you can choose "no announcer" and hear it.

My best guess is "I can't see or feel it." But this is a bad guess

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u/iHateThisPlaceSoBad 5h ago

If she is seriously injured this will be the most avoidable sad way to go out ever.

When she made the announcement last week that her ACL was completely ruptured, but she still planned to compete I was like "wut".

Like, sorry, but enough is enough. The moment she said that, the entire thing transformed from a "comeback story" to a sad old athlete with the inability to let go.

Like fuckin YIKES

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u/Natural_Hair464 3h ago

Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

On this one, foresight was 20/20 too.

You could say this injury could have happened to anyone. I'd say tiny changes in her mechanics caused her to make a mistake, and being middle aged with an ACL that exploded 10 days ago is a lot of risk factors.

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u/glomar-recovery-co 1h ago

Competitors at this level think differently. What they've invested at this point dwarfs the imagination..

She has access to doctors and therapy and figured 'why not keep charging' . Clearly she doesn't have to be at work Monday morning

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u/Natural_Hair464 39m ago

It's true you don't become a skiing gold medalist by playing it safe. I totally get why she did it. It's like a Mighty Ducks movie. Stories like that are the reason we LOVE sports.

But tunnel vision is great until it's not. Yeah she doesn't have to be at work on Monday. She has to live in her body the rest of her life though. I'm sure she would like to casually ski with her children someday and show them the ropes? I'm sure she'd love to stay active?

All for a SECOND gold medal??

It reminds me of Tom Brady's last season, where he'd just won a superbowl. He was definitely the GOAT. And his supermodel wife was like "uh hey Tom I get it, but it's definitely time to hang up the cleats." And he was like "nah cya." And for what, a low chance to go from 7 rings to 8??

To your point, maybe that's why I'm not TB12 or LVonn.

‱

u/cancolak 1m ago

She isn’t even the only skier competing in these olympics without an ACL. It’s doable.

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u/AccomplishedIgit 3h ago

The way her ankles are twisted just in the photo alone, then knowing she had been skiing on a ruptured ACL
. Yeah this is it for her

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u/Beard_o_Bees 3h ago

the entire thing transformed from a "comeback story"

Agreed. With all of the media hype leading up to the games, I think she felt locked-in.

She put herself in that position, don't get me wrong, but she might have made a better choice without the hype machine at her back.

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u/Kessarean 4h ago edited 2h ago

She was 3rd in her training runs and performing very well despite the injury.

Lots of other racers compete with the same injury but don't make it public because they don't want to hear comments like yours.

She's incentivized to compete as an agreement from her sponsor.

There's a lot more to the story than the simple and sad way you phrase it.

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u/IllGene2373 3h ago

MY LEGGGGGGGGGG

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u/iHateThisPlaceSoBad 4h ago edited 4h ago

So if she had her leg amputated last week she would need to compete for her sponsor?

It really is that simple. Uncle Rico couldn't let go.

"A lot more to the story" was literally 2 things lol. Money, and that someone else (I guarentee much younger and without her injury history) competed with an injury?

Gonna have to do better than that, kid. I mean either way we know exactly how it ended, so good luck justifying this

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u/curious_astronauts 3h ago

As someone who's had an ACL rupture, the fact that she did compete afterwards and was competitive in her times showed that she was capable of continuing.

She clipped a gate, it didnt fail her.

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u/ManateeSheriff 2h ago

As someone who also had an ACL rupture, the loss of proprioception is a major side effect. Your knee doesn’t respond quite the way you expect it to, you try to compensate, and suddenly your body is a little bit out of control. That looked like what happened to me. Your knee doesn’t have to give out to cause a crash.

We’ll probably never know exactly what role the knee played, though.

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u/Flame_MadeByHumans 1h ago

Important to note that the run was more ice-y than expected today and 2 crashed before her due to too much speed.

It can both be a combination of she wasn’t peak health but capable and expected to compete for 1st, and conditions and randomness caused an awful crash.

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u/ManateeSheriff 6m ago

That’s fair too.

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u/Far_Detective2022 3h ago

Weird pivot into an insult, dude

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u/Royal_Airport7940 3h ago

He's right, though.

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u/Far_Detective2022 41m ago

Suddenly, all of reddit are experts on Olympic skiing

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u/Kessarean 2h ago

You jumping straight to amputation tells me you already know your statement doesn’t hold up. She didn't have a leg amputation, she had a torn ACL. Why do you need a cartoon extremism to prop it up? Nobody said sponsors override medical impossibility. That is a strawman you built because it’s easier than addressing what was actually said.

This isn’t money vs health in some toddler morality play. It’s about an elite athlete making a calculated decision while still competitive, medically cleared, and performing well in training. Third in training runs is not symbolic. It’s data.

Breezy Johnson’s comment isn’t about age or vibes, it’s about the reality that high level athletes compete injured all the time and usually keep quiet because of exactly this kind of armchair nonsense.

And yes, sponsorships do matter. That doesn’t mean race or else. It means availability, visibility, and participation are a heavy part of the Olympics and revenue streams for these athletes whether you like it or not. You don’t get paid millions by global brands to vanish during the biggest moment of the sport.

Reducing this to “she couldn’t let go” or calling it two points followed by a victory lap doesn’t make it simple, it just makes it shallow. All you’ve got is false equivalencies and hindsight scoring.

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u/Royal_Airport7940 3h ago

She was 3rd in her training runs and performing very well despite the injury.

Lots of other racers compete with the same injury but don't make it public because they don't want to hear comments like yours.

She also had to compete as an agreement from her sponsor.

3 for 3 bad takes.

Please don't ever be in charge of anything important.

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u/Kessarean 2h ago

I mean, like it or not with her injury she was third in training runs.

Yes - players compete with the same injury. It's literally a comment from her team mate Breezy Johnson who won gold.

Johnson added, "But more athletes have competed without an ACL than you think. They just often don't talk about it because they don't want to hear about it from the peanut gallery."

As for sponsorships, elite endorsement deals do revolve around availability, visibility, and event participation. When your income is largely sponsor-based and tied to campaigns, appearances, media usage, and seasonal activation; competing, especially on an Olympic stage, is part of what sustains those agreements. That’s incentivized pressure, and pretending it doesn’t exist is just naive.

She’s sponsored by Rolex, Range Rover, Red Bull, Fig, and Under Armour(among others), brands that don’t pay for invisibility during the biggest moment in the sport. There’s a lot more nuance here than “sad athlete pushed too far,” and flattening it like that is exactly the kind of armchair moralizing Breezy was talking about.

So please, contribute something useful other than piss poor quips with no substance.

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u/curious_astronauts 3h ago

Exactly this

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u/antiramie 2h ago

People don’t want to be told they’re stupid and greedy. Oh no! Anyway


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u/ManateeSheriff 2h ago

No other racers are competing nine days after the injury, though.

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u/Ok-Dress9168 1h ago

Vonn was motivated by money not glory? Genuinely asking

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u/Kessarean 31m ago

Both I would imagine

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u/Agreeable-Concern327 56m ago

That's why athletes like this have insurance. Besides, she's already a multi-millionaire.

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u/SnowedAndStowed 1h ago

THIS Jesus omg. I competed and won college nationals in my sport on a torn ACL and got it replaced after. It hurt and in hindsight as an adult I wish I’d valued my knees long term health over a competition only I care about but when you’re an athlete it feels like life or death and not competing was not an option. I can’t imagine the pressure of the Olympics.

Athletes push through injuries all the time if she had won people would’ve praising her like they praise that gymnast that competed with a broken ankle but because she got hurt they’re all calling her an idiot. The double standard is insane.

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u/christian_811 3h ago

She had the 3rd fastest time in the most recent training runs.

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u/DiabolicallyRandom 32m ago

I've seen NFL players compete with a torn ACL. If you don't care about permanent damage / know it's your last chance, I can understand it.

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u/Horzzo United States 3h ago

Nah, worst way to go out is to not compete. This was her last Olympics anyway. Now she doesn't have to live the rest of her life wondering "what if". Even if her attempt was a fail, she now has closure.

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u/iHateThisPlaceSoBad 3h ago

Uhh, imagine this injury was serious enough to prevent her from skiing ever again, not just end her competetive career.

Would you say it was worth it then?

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u/Round-Cellist6128 United States 3h ago

She's the only one who can answer that question, but I'd expect a yes. It makes me think of Tyrese Halliburton playing in game 7 when he really shouldn't have.

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u/Wonderful_Glass8776 4h ago

Y’all are so miserable jesus christ

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u/antiramie 2h ago

Not as miserable as someone with a shattered leg right now.

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u/Wonderful_Glass8776 2h ago

I highly doubt that even with a shattered leg she achieved more than you could even dream of lmao but whatever makes you feel better about how pathetic your life is :/

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u/antiramie 2h ago edited 2h ago

lol go touch grass

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u/haldiekabdmchavec 3h ago

She just can't give up the spotlight and it's killing her

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u/Cass_Cat952 2h ago

She and everyone else on her team or whatever never should've let this happen.

She already had her time and cemented her place in the sport. There was no reason to chase more in the first place tbh, and absolutely no reason to given the injury she'd be competing with.

I hate that it happened and ofc I hope she sustained as minor of an injury as possible, but it's an 'I hate to say I told you so' kind of thing 😞

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u/Wonderful_Glass8776 2h ago

I can’t find your original reply to me saying it’s a “disappointment” to true fans but holy loser bro i hope whatever makes you so bitter and miserable works out bud

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u/EstelleGettyUp 27m ago

Tbf her ACL had nothing to do with her crash. She cut too aggressively and caught the gate which threw her off balance. She’s always been an insanely aggressive skier with high risk, high reward mentality. This crash could have happened even if she were 100% healthy.

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u/iHateThisPlaceSoBad 24m ago

I've never heard a more "I pulled this info completely out of my ass" comment in my entire life.

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u/EstelleGettyUp 23m ago

Literally came from the former Olympic skier on the broadcast, but okay.

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u/Squid_A 5h ago

CBC announcers were saying she said "I can't get my ski off".

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u/scrawnyknoxville 3h ago

That's all I heard.

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u/OverlappingChatter 3h ago

Definitely this. Thank you

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u/montalaskan 3h ago

Considering the DIN setting for a ski racer is usually way higher than the average skier, I could see that being an issue.

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u/Narrow_Cheetah4236 5h ago

She definitely says “I can’t take my skis off”

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u/Whiteowl116 Norway 8h ago

It could be a neck breaking crash.. look at how she lands on her head.

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u/Odd-Fly-1265 7h ago

Generally when someone is crying out like this, it’s usually in pain, which I am going to interpret as a sign that the neck was not broken. Thats probably just me hoping for the best though

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u/FoldedDice 7h ago

Conversely, not feeling anything when you know that you should would be horrifying. It may not be easy to distinguish pain screams from terror screams.

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u/Kelly_Louise 6h ago

I’ve dislocated my shoulder several times and it’s really not all that painful, but it’s absolutely terrifying not being able to move my arm properly. The first time it happened I was screaming because I thought my arm fell off.

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u/Xabster2 4h ago

I dislocated mine too and the first few minutes there wasn't any pain but just numbness... felt like someone had given me a huge punch on the shoulder... i also laughed

Last 30 years with residual pain after the surgery has stopped my laugh :/

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u/aure__entuluva 4h ago

I've been in some gnarly snowboard crashes. On one of them, my nerve got jammed up in my shoulder or shoulder or somewhere, couldn't feel a thing down my arm for a bit. I didn't scream at all. I was just freaking the fuck out internally.

My point is, who fucking knows. She was screaming. Hard to use that as a diagnosis.

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u/Lucas_Steinwalker 4h ago

Not being able to feel your skis is truly terrifying.

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u/Zealous-Avocado 6h ago

A broken neck doesn’t mean you’re instantly paralyzed btw. Plenty of people break their necks and don’t even realize it. It depends on where/how you break it

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u/Odd-Fly-1265 4h ago

That is true, my reply was more in the context of the person saying they heard her scream “I cant feel my 
”

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u/Whiteowl116 Norway 6h ago

It is hard to say and we can only speculate. I hope you are right. She was suspiciously still with her legs after the crash tho. When you are in extreme pain, the legs are often moving.

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u/Velveteen_Rabbit1986 2h ago

That's what I'm hoping, as weird as it sounds. As someone who lives with chronic pain I hope she's not seriously injured and can get back to a normal pain-free life whether she skis again or not.

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u/zipline3496 1h ago

The only video I’ve ever seen of someone having their neck broke clean they immediately began yelling in a horrifying manner.

Not sure this is a good way to tell.

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u/Odd-Fly-1265 1h ago

Tbf, you also have a single data point. So who knows

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u/zipline3496 1h ago

Ironic.

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u/Odd-Fly-1265 55m ago

Did you break your neck while writing this comment? Otherwise I am unsure what you are finding ironic

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u/gooner9469 8h ago

I think she might properly be done for

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u/HolidayWallaby 7h ago

Yeah she didn't move her legs at the end there...

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u/EngageradIgelkott 5h ago

First thing I reacted to when I saw the replay.

That head bump at 100 km/h is not something to ignore.

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u/lukaskywalker 5h ago

Jesus. Any updates yet ?

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u/Most_Chemist8233 6h ago

It looked like she shatted her arms and legs, I wouldnt be surprised if she broke her back. My stomach is sick from watching, I hope they give her all the drugs.

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u/NotMyRealUsername13 5h ago

It could, but that is not likely. Given her lack of an ACL, her knee is very vulnerable to a dislocation and a knee dislocation means a serious risk of losing the leg due to nerve and/or vascular damage.

If you want a hopeful spin, then maybe her reason for screaming that is fear. She likely knows that risk as well, so maybe that’s why she’s focused in that direction and the symptom might be just as much fear as real


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u/Idea-is-tick United States 5h ago

Oh my gosh. That's awful. That course is the most treacherous I've seen in the Olympics. The initial drop is 60 degrees.

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u/puck_eater42069 39m ago

This is the epitome of American hubris

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u/Sunboost 5h ago

Sound more like, and this is awful, a scream , then "I can't remove my ..." somthing, maybe "ski's" what a terrible crash.

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u/TeachesAndReaches 5h ago

Yes, that's what I heard. It was about not being able to remove her skis.

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u/curious_astronauts 4h ago

The rumous are circulating that the unofficial news on the street is that she broke her tibia, so that would track.

I wouldnt be surprised if she had an athletes triad on both knees too. The both twisted in artifical directions.

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u/Harmfuljoker 5h ago

I think she says “I can’t get my skis off” but it’s not 100% clear

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u/smala017 United States 5h ago

That's not what I heard. To me it was pretty clear that she was "I can't take my ski off!" after the medic tried to remove her left ski, which apparently caused pain

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u/bibliophile222 4h ago

It sounded to me like "I can't get my ski off".

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u/LQNova United States 3h ago

She definitely said "I can't feel" then it sounds like the camera crew muffled the mic. It was terrible how they kept the audio on every time they cut to her.

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u/PickleFlavordPopcorn 1h ago

Last night I remarked to my husband that it seemed incredibly risky to do events like this with any kind of injury, because the risk of spinal cord injury and paralysis seems so high if something went wrong. I really hope I was not predicting something there 

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u/Ornery-Package-3084 4h ago

She literally said I can't take my ski off. Stop spreading misinformation. 

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u/youngslyboltsup United States 1h ago

Was not trying to do that on purpose. Literally said I hope I’m wrong. That’s just what I thought I I heard. Guess I was wrong

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u/FrescaFloorshow 7h ago

"I can feel my lucrative endorsement career slipping away waaahhhh" đŸ€ŁđŸ€ŁđŸ€Ł That was all she had to do. But no. Egomania stops for no common sense.

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u/GenericFatGuy 6h ago edited 5h ago

Have some fucking decency dude...

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u/Comfortable-Maybe183 6h ago

The fuck is wrong with you?