Inside Lindsey Vonn's Injuries: From ACL Sprain to Fractured Tibia and More

Lindsey Vonn's two-decade career has been defined by victories, losses and injuries that tested her strength and resilience.

In 2006, the alpine ski racer faced a setback during her second Olympic appearance when she crashed during a downhill training session. She was airlifted via helicopter and transported to a local hospital.

Although it left her with a bruised hip, she returned and competed in all four events.

"It's definitely weird, going from the hospital bed to the start gate," she said at the time.

The Olympic champion had an ACL sprain in her right knee after crashing during a downhill training run at the 2007 World Championships in Åre, Sweden. She brought home silver medals despite the injury.

Vonn had to miss one slalom at the 2009 World Championships due to a lacerated right thumb, which she endured after grabbing a broken champagne bottle while celebrating her win.

"The doctor said that the normal procedure for something like this is to not do anything for three months, but obviously I'm not going to stop skiing," she said. "That's really not an option for me. But the risk of it tearing again is pretty high."

She continued, "It was actually pretty good free skiing, but the problem was there was a lot of pressure and vibration on my finger, so right now, we're kind of struggling to come up with a solution where I have the least force on my fingers. At this point, it looks OK, but I'm not going to say until I know for sure. I'm not going to ski if I can't perform my best."

A few months later, in December 2009, the Olympic favorite took a crashing fall in the World Cup giant slalom, leaving her left forearm in a splint.

"Hurting my arm is way better than hurting one of my legs," she expressed on her website.

Just 10 days before the Vancouver Olympics, Vonn picked up a shin injury after slamming her right leg during a slalom practice. She successfully scored the gold medal at the Game, though she went back home with an additional physical setback — a broken right pinkie — when she crashed out after a twirl during the giant slalom.

"The course is breaking up at the bottom," Vonn, who was holding ice on her finger, said. "I got a little bit too inside and lost my outside ski. My knee came up and hit my chin. ... I don't know honestly how I hurt my hand."

During giant slalom training in Austria in February 2011, the Olympian hit her head hard after suffering a fall. She was forced to withdraw midway through the race due to the mild head knock, on top of the shin injury and broken finger she previously sustained.

Vonn marked one of the most injury-plagued years of her career in 2013.

In February of that year, she crashed during the FIS Alpine Ski World Championship super-G race in Schladming, Austria, leaving her with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of her right knee. The incident also caused a lateral tibial plateau fracture.

"She will be out for the remainder of this season but is expected to return to racing for the 2013-14 Audi FIS World Cup season and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia," said the U.S. team.

The highly decorated skiing star was also sidelined during preseason training camp in August 2013 due to a broken left ankle.

Then, in November 2013, she suffered another ACL injury in her right knee after crashing during training.

Her publicist issued a statement at the time, which read, "Lindsey sustained a mild strain to her right knee, a partial tear to her right ACL, minor facial abrasions and scapular contusions from her fall. She needs to rest for a few days and then will pursue aggressive physical therapy and will determine the next time she is able to compete after seeing how she responds to the treatment."

Vonn revealed she suffered a minor blow when she fractured her ankle following a New Zealand training crash in 2015. She had to miss the first race of the Alpine season to focus on her recovery at the time.

The famous skier's racing season in 2016 was brought to a halt when she severely fractured the humerus bone of her right arm during a training crash at Copper Mountain in Colorado.

"While I am beyond frustrated by this latest setback, at least my knees are ok and I will return to the slopes as soon as possible, as I always do!" she wrote in an update on Facebook. "Thank you for the continued love and support, it means so much to me."

She then sustained three fractures in her left knee when she crashed while leading her World Cup event in Andorra in 2016.

Vonn penned a lengthy update on Instagram, announcing her exit from the World Cup circuit after fracturing her tibial plateau. Additional tests confirmed she had fractures that were "not sufficiently stable to permit [her] to safely continue skiing."

"Further damage any of the fragments could result in a serious surgery that would risk my future in ski racing. With the World Championships in St. Moritz next year and the Winter Olympics in South Korea the following year, I cannot take that risk," she continued.

Vonn had to withdraw from her World Cup race once again in 2017 due to "an acute facet [spinal joint] dysfunction," she confirmed in a tweet.

During a training session at Copper Mountain, Colorado, in November 2018, the World Cup champion faced a severe setback when she tore her LCL and sustained tibial plateau fractures.

In an emotional January 2019 post, Vonn opened up about the peroneal nerve impact injury that shut down her muscle and left her in "so much pain."

"Now that we know the problem the next issue is fixing it. So far we haven't found a solution and as a result I will not be able to compete in tomorrow's downhill training run. However, since this is a new 'injury' per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it," she wrote. "I'm taking things day by day and we will see what happens. I know that I might not get the ending to my career that I had hoped for, but if there is a chance, I will take it. Thanks for all of the support you have shown me, it helps keep me going. ❤️🙏🏻."

She announced her retirement from professional skiing in February 2019 after the World Championships in Sweden.

Vonn, however, returned to the spotlight in 2024 after undergoing a knee replacement surgery.

Just before the 2026 Olympics, Vonn left her fans worried after she crashed during her final downhill race and ruptured her ACL. She also had bone bruising and meniscus damage.

"I have to take it day by day. My goal is obviously right now the downhill. I have to see how it feels – if it's stable and I feel confident, I'll continue to race. That is my goal. But I can't tell you that answer until I actually ski 85 miles an hour," she assured the public.

But after her miraculous return to the slalom, she suffered another crash in the Olympic downhill, which left her with a complex tibia fracture. She was airlifted from the course and transported to a hospital in Treviso, Italy, where she underwent three successful surgeries.

Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association, said Vonn will undergo further operations in the U.S.