Lindsey Vonn isn’t interested in discussing her skiing future after suffering a devastating leg injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
“No, I’m not ready to discuss my future in skiing,” Vonn, 41, wrote via X on Sunday, March 15. “My focus has been on recovering from my injury and getting back to normal life. I was already retired for 6 years and have an amazing life outside of skiing. It was incredible to be #1 in the world again at 41 years old and set new records in my sport, but at my age, I’m the only one that will decide my future.”
The athlete continued, “I don’t need anyone’s permission to do what makes me happy. Maybe that means racing again, maybe that doesn’t. Only time will tell. Please stop telling me what I should or should not do. I’ll let you know when I decide.”
Vonn’s public declaration comes just days after she shared a brutal video of her injured leg on Friday, March 13. In the clip shared via the Olympian’s Instagram Story, Vonn could be seen breathing heavily as a physical therapist pushed her injured leg down for just a few seconds. Vonn then grimaced in pain and bit her lip as the therapist began counting during the exercise.
“Had to do this…,” Vonn captioned the video, simultaneously giving fans and followers a glimpse at two separate surgery spots on her leg, covered by large bandages.
The difficult-to-watch video was followed by a second clip of her physical therapy, showing the athlete happily riding a recovery bike and pedaling smoothly.
“So I could do this,” Vonn wrote alongside the video, showing that — in some cases — pain really is a prerequisite for gain.
Vonn made her return to the Olympics in Italy in February, despite completely tearing her ACL during a World Cup race in Switzerland days earlier on January 30.
Just 13 seconds into her Olympic run, Vonn crashed, severely injuring the same leg. The athlete could be heard screaming in pain before she was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she underwent four surgeries before she was able to return to the United States.
Vonn later revealed that the doctors saved her leg from a probable amputation.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg,” Vonn shared via social media on February 23. “He saved my leg from being amputated. 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.”
