Lindsey Vonn’s emotional bid for Olympic glory ended in heartbreak on Sunday as the alpine skiing great crashed out of the women’s downhill at the Milan-Cortina

Winter Games, just days after suffering a serious knee injury.

Vonn, 41, fell only seconds into her run on the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, bringing a sudden end to her hopes of winning a medal in her signature event. Screams of pain echoed across the sunlit slope as medical staff rushed to her side, with the American later airlifted from the mountain by helicopter while fans applauded in support.

As Vonn’s race ended almost before it began, her U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson delivered a flawless performance to capture Olympic gold. The reigning world champion edged Germany’s Emma Aicher, who took silver just 0.04 seconds behind, while Italy’s Sofia Goggia thrilled the home crowd with a bronze-medal fish.

Johnson’s victory came exactly one year after her world championship triumph in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, confirming her status as the dominant downhill skier of the moment.

For Vonn, the moment was cruel. Competing despite a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee sustained roughly a week earlier, the four-time Olympic medalist lost control just 13 seconds into her descent, slamming into the hard snow before tumbling down the course with her skis still attached — a fall that risked further damage to her injured knee.

The 2010 Olympic downhill champion lay distraught on the slope where she had once ruled, her face buried in her hands as medical staff surrounded her. Cortina has long been one of Vonn’s happiest hunting grounds, making the scene all the more poignant.

One of the most recognisable figures in winter sport, Vonn had spoken boldly ahead of the Games, insisting she could still compete — and even win — against rivals nearly half her age. She had planned to race in the team combined event on Tuesday and the super-G later in the week, but those plans now appear in serious doubt.

Vonn initially retired in 2019 but returned to competition in November 2024 after undergoing partial knee replacement surgery on her right leg. Her comeback had been nothing short of remarkable: she finished on the podium in every World Cup downhill this season, including wins in St. Moritz and Zauchensee, and added two top-three results in the super-G.

Yet Sunday’s crash may mark a painful turning point. With another long recovery potentially ahead, questions are growing over whether this dramatic Olympic exit signals the end of one of the greatest comebacks — and careers — in alpine skiing history. Photo by Duncan Rawlinson from Vancouver, BC, Wikimedia commons.