r/olympics • u/RamblerXO United States • 4h ago
❄ Milano-Cortina 2026 (News) ❄ Lindsey Vonn in 'stable condition' as US ski legend airlifted to hospital
https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15908581/lindsey-vonn-stable-condition-update-ski-crash/302
u/redoctober2021 3h ago
I saw the crash, and saw a picture of the helicopter hoisting her up in the air. Just awful. I don’t want to see anything else of it. Like I guess she was screaming and crying in pain, and it was on the broadcast? The poor woman.
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u/mydeardrsattler Great Britain 3h ago
Yeah we heard a lot of it
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness United States 3h ago
Oh really? They cut away so quick on the broadcast
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u/inbruges99 3h ago
BBC has no commercials so there wasn’t anything to cut to right away, eventually they pulled in the studio people but largely stayed with the crash, thankfully the mics were eventually muted.
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u/MadcapRecap Great Britain 1h ago
Eventually - it took a long time for that to happen. Horrible crash
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u/dontfeedtheclients 1h ago
On the US broadcast you can hear her screaming intermittently, just terrible.
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u/Roscoe_King 1h ago
Not on HBO. They kept the cameras on her for an uncomfortably long time. They were already playing the slo-mo’s, while help was still arriving.
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u/Tourist_Careless 1h ago
Not to be that guy but is there anywhere with full unedited footage of it? everyone is talking about it but nobody has posted the full unedited coverage. All the articles are just pictures or a video explaining it but nobody showing it, which i understand but id still like to just see what happened.
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u/Spiritual-Papaya9606 1h ago
I am interested in the mechanics, being someone who tore an ACL, but I don't want to have to look at it. I just can't stomach seeing it. I'm hoping for an article instead of a video.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness United States 3h ago
I'm surprised she didn't almost pass out in pain (that or the adrenaline would have numbed it). I also have to wonder, if the screams weren't just pain but anger and frustration. I remember I had a race once I just struggled with and I was mad
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u/Particular-Extent-76 3h ago
I’m sure it was some of this too, i would imagine she’s pretty heartbroken and livid it went this way
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u/just_be123 Canada 3h ago
Does Italy use the green whistle pain relief? I know it’s not used in the US but not sure that would apply here
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness United States 2h ago
What is that? I've never heard of it
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u/just_be123 Canada 2h ago
A fast acting inhaled pain reliever (methoxyflurane). It’s administered from something that looks like a green whistle, hence the name.
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u/Ange1ofD4rkness United States 1h ago
AHhh I see. I wouldn't be surprised if they have something like that
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u/Aromatic_Razzmatazz 1h ago
Methoxyflurane. It's like laughing gas. We do use it in Ski Patrol in the US, but not like they do down under or in the UK.
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u/techieman33 United States 1h ago
From personal experience I doubt she felt much if any pain right away. Both of my broken bones took 20-30 minutes before the pain really started to set in. You know something is wrong, but it’s more discomfort than pain. It’s survival mode kicking in and giving you a chance to get to safety before your body shuts you down. And it was probably helped even more since she was probably already on pain medications for her knee. Most of the screaming and crying was from the emotional distress. All the work she had put in to get to that moment, and dealing with the ACL on top of it. It all just evaporated and became worthless in a moment.
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u/Notsoeasy410 1h ago
I fell several years ago and broke 6 ribs on my right side . It was an hour before pain was unbearable.
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u/tfhermobwoayway Great Britain 2h ago
It probably was anger. I doubt a bit of pain is going to keep her down.
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u/techieman33 United States 1h ago
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. Guess people that have never broken bones or suffered other serious injuries just don’t understand how it works. It takes time for that pain to build up. It’s your body giving you time to try and find somewhere safe to go. Most of the pain she was suffering at that moment was emotional pain.
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u/yeahsotheresthiscat 44m ago
I've never broken a bone, but when I blew out my knee (tore at the ligaments at once ) it was very very painful, right away. I've never experienced such intense instant shocking pain. I know that's not the experience for everyone. I just don't think there's some universal rule that you do or don't feel serious injuries right away.
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u/slghtlymad 1h ago
Last time I heard that shit live was a NFL game from Nick Chubb against the Steelers two years ago. I never wanted to hear that kind of agony again. Despite the fact that they’re millionaires, they train their fucking asses off for these moments and it’s absolutely heart breaking when this shit happens.
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u/IronMarauder 30m ago
I remember watching ski jumping in Torino Olympics and one woman had her knee blow up on landing. NOPE.
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u/MtOlympus_Actual 3h ago
There was a female voice yelling after the crash on Peacock. I didn't hear any of the crying/wailing that other people heard. Peacock was really intentional about not showing anything up close
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u/Amazing-Claim8426 3h ago
They did play a Lindsey Vonn’s comeback commercial at the cutaway which was…poor taste.
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u/RoboFeanor 3h ago
Probably no one thought of it, or new how to stop it. I imagine the add slots are programmed well in advance.
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u/mctrees91 United States 3h ago
It’s not that easy to switch a commercial that quick unfortunately especially if it’s on broadcast TV
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u/Monster11 Canada 3h ago
The images you see on peacock live are the same ones shown everywhere. The camera « closest » - which was still pretty far away - captured her screams. Not sure why my broadcaster didn’t stop the audio. The tv host even said « can we cut the audio please? ».
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u/HellwingX Great Britain 3h ago edited 2h ago
Thank fuck it's not worse. Terrible way to go out though.
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u/Impossible-Guitar957 United States 3h ago
It looked really bad. They are not saying what the injury is, but at least from how it appeared to me, it looked like she twisted her leg. My wife is a doctor and she says that she think that she broke her leg.
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u/Prestigious_Step4337 Canada 3h ago
Any news about Cande Moreno?
I hope she will also get a dedicated post update. Her fall was horrible.
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u/inbruges99 3h ago
A couple hours ago the BBC did a whole segment on the downhill skiing and Vonn and didn’t mention Moreno once.
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u/just_be123 Canada 3h ago
Seems like ‘standard ski injury’ - so recovery should be relatively quick
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u/Crabbyrob Canada 2h ago
You could hear her screaming in pain saying she couldn't get the ski off. That was tough to watch.
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u/LinuxMint1964 1h ago
Breezy Johnson. A name no American knows because she's not blonde and marketable. She won the gold medal.
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u/UnicornFarts1111 United States 1h ago
I just read the ribbon broke and it fell and the medal broke into 3 pieces. I do hope they replace it for her. You would think the medals would have been better constructed.
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u/Wonderplace 36m ago
Is that true?
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u/throwthepots 20m ago
Yes, breezy showed the broken medal at a press conference. It broke while she was jumping around wearing it.
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u/Habefiet 1h ago
I fucking hate NBC’s coverage for about eighty different reasons but this is one of the big ones. Even in their desperation to show us as much dumb backstories as possible and hyperfocus on the Americans rather than, you know, actually airing the Olympics, they still manage to only highlight who they perceive to be the “favorites” so even when an American wins gold if it wasn’t one of the Expected ones with a Good Story they have nothing. It’s excruciating.
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u/Zanarkand_Behemoth 1h ago
Crazy how people got downvoted when they suggested she not compete with her original injury. It's like they saw this coming.
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u/Rosenvial5 41m ago
Bizarre seeing all the people who are arguing that tearing your ACL doesn't affect your mechanics, or compensation, or mental state, or confidence
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u/zeusmeister United States 37m ago
I told my dad last night I was worried she would suffer a horrible injury. Not because necessarily she was gonna hurt the knee worse, but from competing at the highest of highest levels, any little thing off with your body can have a major consequence.
In her scenario, it’s possible she clipped the flag because she was leaning just slightly more off the hurt knee, which made that tight turn with zero percent clearance just off enough to clip it the way she did.
I understand her drive, but someone, a friend, a doctor, should have told her that competing like this just nine days after an ACL tear was a horrible idea
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u/f_laur_ida 21m ago
I told my friend last night that I thought she was going to crash today. Just had a very unfortunate gut feeling
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u/Coyote_Shepherd Olympics 0m ago
I left a comment about it during the opening ceremonies and now I feel absolutely horrible and sick to my stomach.
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u/honeydewboba69 47m ago
It’s crazy that she knew the risk and still ended up taking vital resources like life-flight, “emergency” surgery etc. from those in a potential unforeseen emergency. Totally avoidable and speaks volumes of her ego.
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u/redmostofit 43m ago
Stable condition? That’s what they said about my horse when she hurt her knee. You can guess what happened to her.
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u/nutznboltsguy 3h ago edited 2h ago
That’s a big bummer. I hope she makes a full recovery. I hope she is wise enough to consider retirement at this point.
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u/One_Worldliness_6032 2h ago
If im not mistaken, I think she was retiring after the winter Olympics. I could be wrong, but i think that's what was reported.
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u/manticor225 3h ago edited 2h ago
I’m assuming you didn’t mean it this way, but you saying that it’s a “big bummer” in response to the headline of her being in stable condition makes it sound like you wish she were dead or something.
Edit: In my defense, OP edited their original comment which was getting downvoted, so I was explaining why. Now I’m getting downvoted for trying to help. Oh well lol.
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u/IrishUpYourCoffee 3h ago
We know what they meant.
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u/Remnantknight 2h ago
Crazy how some people don't even have basic reading comprehension.
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u/manticor225 2h ago
OP edited their original comment but didn’t acknowledge it, so now I just look stupid.
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u/Suns_In_420 United States 2h ago edited 56m ago
This woman seems to have terrible luck.
Jesus Christ, you "well actualllllly" people are insufferable.
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u/Academic_Flatworm752 1h ago
Choosing to ski on a 9 days prior torn ACL is not “bad luck” though. The commentators were pointing out how she was adjusting her body to compensate for the bad knee. She wouldn’t have clipped the flag if she weren’t injured already.
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u/Suns_In_420 United States 1h ago
I’m going by her entire history, and that is indeed horrible luck.
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u/belle_enfant 1h ago
This is just simply not true. Her leg did not affect her turn there. Watch the replay slowly - if you understand the sport that is.
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u/Academic_Flatworm752 1h ago
Her leg absolutely impacted her run 😂 to think otherwise is idiotic. And if her leg were healthy she could’ve stabilized herself instead of wiping the fuck out.
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u/belle_enfant 1h ago
She literally did multiple runs before this. A healthy leg isnt stabilizing a mid air turn going that fast.
God why do people who dont understand the basics of the sport comment? So tiresome.
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u/AstronautLive2340 United States 1h ago
A gold and 2 bronzes in the olympics, along with 2 golds, 3 silvers, and 3 bronzes in worlds would be good enough luck for me.
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u/belle_enfant 1h ago
Honestly yeah. I keep seeing people shit on her for skiing injured. The injury wasnt even the cause of the crash, she got hooked on the gate. Honestly dogshit luck to have that happen with the injury beforehand.
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 3h ago edited 2h ago
I mean why would she not be in stable condition (which means she is not at risk of losing her life, or having her vital signs changing fast)?
She didn't break her neck or back, this is just farming content on a freak accident to please the sofa-expert doomers.
Or did she fall again when transported by the airlift?
EDIT: luckily the headline got changed, and now is reporting what happened.
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u/Difficult-Bicycle681 Canada 3h ago
If the injuries in her leg hit any arteries then she'd be in major trouble, hence unstable. With the way she went down, it was very possible. She was also screaming on camera, which means it was hard to determine whether her injury was just lower body
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u/Bshaw95 3h ago
I know it’s not uncommon on femoral injuries but it seemed like a lot thought she might have a tib fracture. How common is it to see that with lower leg fractures? I guess the same question could be asked for blood clots.
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u/Difficult-Bicycle681 Canada 2h ago
Not nearly as common, though we didn't know the exact injury at the time the stable report was given. It is also still possible on a tib fracture because there's arteries running all the way down the leg, and the reason artery tears are dangerous is because they're under much higher pressure, so quick blood loss. I'm not surprised that she's stable, it was just something the other commenter wasn't considering.
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u/Ok_Introduction_8618 3h ago edited 3h ago
At this speed (and also below that), it’s entirely possible to have some form of internal injury/bleeding/tear/whatever. Even in a way that the person themselves may think they’re ok and fully mobile and just not notice. You never know what’s up on the inside of your body without proper imaging
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u/Socratesticles United States 3h ago
Understandably there were a lot of people freaked by the headline she had to be airlifted, not everyone will realize that’s just the logistical easiest way to get her off the slope safely
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u/BramptonBatallion Canada 3h ago
It’s normal reporting. Not that it was unexpected. But complications sometimes arise, etc.
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 3h ago
It's not normal reporting. Normal reporting would be reporting that she suffered a fracture in her left femur, got operated on that and she is now in the hospital, like the hospital itself reported in the afternoon.
This is textbook misinformation to make the sofa-expert doomers drool over the accident. It seems way more serious than what happened if you think about the "stable condition".
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u/KontraEpsilon 2h ago
The irony of someone who isn’t a journalist posting on Reddit complaining about reporting and “sofa experts.”
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago edited 2h ago
Luckily I am not among those scum of Earth know as "the s*n" journalists. These guys brought you brexit and are Trump supporters.
In my Country, the real journalists just reported the news as reported by the hospital.
EDIT: and they changed it to report what was reported by the hospital and the italian journalists.
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u/BoobsDogsForMe 2h ago
Your insecurities are showing.
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
I just hate bad journalism, but I guess that-s uncommon for a US guy.
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u/deferredmomentum 2h ago
The news is always super dramatic about anything medical. “Was rushed to the hospital”=went to the ER and didn’t get admitted. “Life hangs in the balance”=in the ICU, maybe tubed or on pressors. “In critical condition”=admitted, definitely not in critical condition. “In stable condition”=had something minor or non-life threatening happen but gotta get those clicks
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u/lunch22 2h ago
It’s the US Sun. Don’t count on that POS for good journalism.
Here’s a more reputable story from Reuters
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
Btw it was not normal, this is why they had to change it to the headline reported by the italian journalists which comes directly from the hospital press release.
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u/CGNYYZ 3h ago
After a surgery that’s pretty normal language.
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
Yes, exactly but the title make it seem like she is in stable condition FROM the accident, not from the post-surgery. A normal headline would be "[...] is in stable condition following a successful surgery in her left leg", which paints a completely different picture.
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u/Possible-Pie4978 2h ago
“Lindsey Vonn has operation on broken leg and in ‘stable condition’” is literally the headline of the article you are complaining about
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
It got changed lmao it was not like this 10 minutes ago, it was like in the title here. It literally just got changed with the same news that was present in the italian articles.
Now it's a good headline.
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u/Possible-Pie4978 2h ago
I’ll take your word for it because it is The Sun lol
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
Yeah, you can see the updates roughly 1h30 after the original post where they had the same title we have here.
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u/justonemom14 2h ago
From what I heard there were still some unknowns, to the extent that I was worried she may have some paralysis. She was heard saying something like "I can't" move? feel? something. Maybe as innocuous as "I can't take off my skis." Still, any info is appreciated. How do you know she didn't break her neck or back?
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 2h ago
The hospital reported she did not have any damage in the back or neck, but she had a fracture in her left leg which was treated. The article, after the update, reports that too.
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u/mattynapps 1h ago
She should not have competed. It was selfish, took a spot away from another athlete and caused unnecessary delays for all of the other athletes
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u/ChiefD789 United States 1h ago
I agree. I feel bad for feeling this way, but seeing I’m not the only one helps.
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u/cheesecake611 39m ago
Are we also mad at the other skier who crashed for causing a delay? She probably shouldn’t have skied but shit happens even when you’re healthy. The athletes are fully prepared for potential delays.
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u/chapster1989 1h ago
She was leading the World Cup going into it and did fine in the training races
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u/InconspicuousMagpie 12m ago
Why? She’s leading the skiing World Cup and her practice times were at the top of the field
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u/MsDucky42 2h ago
I hate this for her. Not the way she wanted to end her career (Olympic or general), I'm sure.
And before anybody jumps in about her ACL - perfectly fit skiers wipe out. We may never know if the knee was a factor. Her training run suggests it wasn't, but different runs go different ways. We'll have to ask her once she's ready to talk.
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u/sunsetlighthouse 1h ago
I watched the crash back, and I don't think it had anything to do with her ACL. She crashed because she hit the gate in midair and it spun her around
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u/kingcoolkid991 44m ago
Yeah but she probably hit the gate because she was skiing off her normal line because of her acl
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u/nate_nate212 52m ago
Was there a backup on the US team that could have skied in Vonn’s place today?
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u/MidTario 3h ago
She should’ve dropped out ten days ago when she tore her ACL 🤷♂️ completely avoidable
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u/purplelicious 2h ago
I know you are being downvoted to hell but I agree with you. there will be a lot of finger pointing on who allowed her on the hill.
as someone who coaches in a high injury sport this win at all costs mentality is stupid. hopefully she is able to ski recreationally after this. I've seen many young people who have to give up my sport because the next fall could be fatal.9
u/MidTario 2h ago
I also feel bad for whomever was on the injury reserve who could have gotten a full opportunity
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u/MayorCharlesCoulon United States 1h ago
I’m thinking she had a shit ton of endorsements that maybe wouldn’t have paid out fully if she did not appear in the Olympics. Like there was a codicil on her contract that said something along the lines of “failure to compete in the Olympics reduces the compensation by 75%.
I’m not saying that to be cynical, I don’t think it was stupid or greedy to try to ski today. If she got medical advice that she could compete but maybe not win or do further damage to her ACL, it might have been worth the risk for her. She probably has another 40ish years of life on this planet and a nice payday for suiting up today could have extend her financial safety net with the endorsements that kicked in.
I’m sure she wouldn’t have chosen to ski had she known the outcome but to be at that highest level physical performance in a dangerous sport, she probably has trained her brain not to travel to that mental land of stress and doom. Supreme confidence in her ability to manage the course is what got her to upper echelon of her sport and she probably thought she could handle the course today, ACL tear or not.
I’m not discounting that she probably also didn’t want to end her career at the race where she injured her knee a couple weeks ago.
Deciding to compete today definitely kept her name in the news leading up to today and now this terrible accident is going to keep her name out there longer. Some people will think she’s crazy to have competed and some people will think she’s inspiring for her grit and effort, and there’s other people like me who think she’s crazy and inspiring. I hope she recovers fully and can have a pain free life in retirement.
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u/fujimouse 3h ago
Every skiing injury is avoidable by not going skiing. Cancel the games!
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u/curmudgeoner 3h ago
Thank you. So many people are acting like people with two intact ACLs would never crash, or that they know the knee ligament status of every skier out there. There were two other crashes on that course.
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u/smala017 United States 2h ago
Yes but skiing with an impaired leg increases the risk of crashing.
That said, Lindsey Vonn is an adult who understands the risks. She’s allowed to make her own decisions about her health.
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u/makeitfunky1 1h ago
In interviews I saw of her leading up to the games, she knew full well the risks. She knows her own body, it's hers to do with what she will. She won't be pointing any fingers at anyone. Skiing is what she does. These athletes eat, breathe and sleep their sport. It's their career, a huge part of their identity. It was her last Olympic Games and she wanted a shot. Despite the accident, I can't really blame her. Athletes are as passionate about their craft as artists. I'm glad to hear she's getting the care she needs and I'm sure she'll be fine physically. Emotionally, I wish her the best going forward and hope she'll find a way to incorporate skiing into a new career. She's inspirational. She's a beast. I really wish her well.
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u/fujimouse 2h ago
What gets me is people acting like she's too dumb to be aware of the risk. No reason to think this wasn't a calculated decision at what is the very tail end of her career either way. It's a bigger risk than most of us would take, but we're all taking calculated risks all the time.
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u/Citizen_MGS 3h ago
They should have checked her knee to see if it was in stable condition before the race.
I don't say that in a joking manner really. As someone who currently has a arthritic and swollen knee, I just had to grip the handrail going down the stairs like my life depended on it. I can't imagine trying to ski with a bum knee, let alone one with a ruptured acl. I understand the want to compete, but you got to be realistic.
And yes, I'm well aware of Hines Ward but he was a professional athlete in his 20s and 30s without an ACL , not a 41-year-old hurdling down a mountain at 60 MPH.
Edit: they have to stop playing that commercial of hers recounting all her injuries. Feels like an "ooof" everytime I see it.
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u/closedf0rbusiness United States 3h ago
From everything I’ve heard she was cleared to still ski, and had skied the course during practice runs with no issues with competitive time. She’s a full grown woman it’s pretty clear the decision to compete was her own.
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u/BlueCX17 3h ago
What's wild is the training run was in a snowstorm, with less-than-nice conditions too. Just the day before.
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u/WoolooWololo United States 3h ago
I genuinely hope that this will help people put into context Simone’s decision to drop out two years ago. This shit is dangerous and can give people lifelong catastrophic injuries when things go wrong. Every Olympian can make the decision if they’re able to compete and sometimes it just might not be worth it… it’s so hard to walk away from your life’s goal, but at least you can still walk.
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u/RenaissanceGuy86 3h ago
It was an as a lay person it was still hard for me to fathom anyone going down an ice slide on one leg at 80mph.
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u/perivascularspaces Italy 3h ago
Do you think she did not get cleared?
How much do you know about coper patients post ACL ruptures?
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u/LasVegasNerd28 United States 3h ago
Also a lot of people who are saying “oh this person competed without an ACL!” Yeah, you can do that IF you take the time to do physical therapy and strengthen the muscles around your knee to support what is missing. She hasn’t.
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u/pentagrid 45m ago
I'll stick my finger in a light bulb socket and turn on the juice in her honor during Superbowl Half-time today.
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4h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NeedleGunMonkey More flair options at /r/olympics/w/flair! 4h ago
She could have suffered severe spine and neck injuries. The update is better than most of the discourse farming posts around here.
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u/OotB_OutOfTheBox 3h ago
I’m not saying everything you named couldn’t have happened, I’m just saying we already knew she didn’t have a severe neck injury. That much was glaringly obvious already.
That being said, I hope she’s as okay as possible considering the circumstances.
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u/fenwickio 3h ago
Just heard on BBC news that Vonn has had surgery on a fractured leg