Less than 24 hours after her devastating downhill ski crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Lindsey Vonn has broken her silence.
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Responding to British sports commentator Dan Walker on X, the Team USA skier wrote, “Thank you, Dan.” The skier was also competing with a torn ACL in Italy.
Walker took to the social media platform following the accident to defend Vonn from critics. “If you want to know what sport is…What a weekend of action!” he wrote. “I love the Winter Olympics, but there have been quite a few articles questioning whether
@lindseyvonn should have been competing in Italy at the age of 41 with an injured ACL.
Continuing to praise Vonn, Walker stated her attitude is “the very essence of sport.”
“It wasn’t just about chasing glory… it was about defiance,” he pointed out. “This is what sport looks like when you strip away the polish. It’s not comfortable… it’s painful. Risk instead of safety.”
Walker further stated that Vonn was aware she might not win and might be hurt while competing due to the torn ACL. However, he said she embraced it all because not going down “that mountain would mean surrendering to the things that stop you getting out of bed in the morning.”
“Great sporting moments don’t always finish on a podium,” he declared. “They are acts of courage. They are athletes standing on the start line, knowing it could be the last time, knowing it might go wrong… and launching themselves anyway.”
He also shared, “That is the essence of sport. Not the medal. The moment before the gate opens and there is a chance that dream might become reality.”
Walker went on to add that he hopes Vonn heals quickly, adding, “She knows she will always be a winner.”
Lindsey Vonn Suffers Broken Leg After Winter Olympics Crash
While competing in the downhill race in Cortina, Vonn lost control after appearing to clip a course flag, then landed sideways and hit her head on the ground. She was reportedly heard screaming that she was unable to remove her skis following the crash.
Although she appeared responsive, Vonn did not get up on her own. She was airlifted from the course to a nearby hospital, where she underwent surgery for a leg fracture she sustained from the crash.
In a statement to CBS News, Team USA said that Vonn’s right ski pole snagged a gate, causing her to lose her balance and go out of control. The U.S. Ski Team also stated that she “sustained an injury,” was “in stable condition,” and was “in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”
“She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard, stated. “This sport’s brutal, and people need to remember when they’re watching (that) these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”