Lindsey Vonn undergoes second surgery on broken leg after Winter Olympics fall
In sunday’s fall Lindsay Vonn suffered a broken leg and she underwent a surgical procedure later on Sunday. Now, it has emerged that she had another operation on Monday morning
Lindsay Vonn, 41, has undergone a second surgery on her leg following a horrific fall during the downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Vonn was taking part in her first Winter Olympics in eight years, having staged a remarkable comeback in 2025 after half a decade away from the limelight. Her decision to participate was a surprising one, given that she had ruptured her ACL just days before travelling to Italy for the Games.
In sunday’s fall Vonn suffered a broken leg and she underwent a surgical procedure later on Sunday. Now, it has emerged that she had another operation on Monday morning. The veteran skier, who initially needed a stabilisation procedure, had a ‘double operation’ on Monday to reduce the femur fracture in her left leg with external fixation.
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The surgery took place at Ca’ Foncello Hospital, the main medical facility in Treviso, after Vonn was transferred from Codivilla Hospital in Cortina D’Ampezzo.
On Monday evening Vonn broke her silence and issued a statement to explain how a narrow miscalculation on the course led to the accident and addressed questions surrounding her health following the fall.
She wrote on social media: “Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever. Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.
“While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.
“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped. I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”
