Lindsey Vonn is not interested in discussing her skiing future after sustaining a serious 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. “I’m focused on recovering from my injury and getting back to normal life. I’ve been retired for 6 years and have an amazing life outside of skiing. It was amazing to be #1 in the world again at the age of 41, but I’m only one stop away from a new record. It will determine my future.”
The athlete continued, “I don’t need anyone’s permission to do what makes me happy, maybe that means running again, maybe that doesn’t mean it, only time will tell, please stop telling me what I should do and what I shouldn’t do, I’ll let you know when I make a decision.”
Vonn’s public announcement comes just days after she shared a gruesome video of her injured leg on Friday, March 13. In a clip shared by 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 winced in pain and bit her lip as the therapist began counting down the exercises.
“I had to do this…,” Vonn captioned the video, while also giving fans a glimpse of two different surgical sites on her leg, covered in large bandages.
The hard-to-watch video was followed by a second clip of his physical therapy, which shows the athlete happily riding a recovery bike and moving well.
Lindsey Vonn
Courtesy of Lindsey Vonn/Instagram“So I can do this,” Vonn wrote alongside the video, showing that – in some cases – pain is indeed necessary for gain.
Vonn returned to the Olympics in Italy in February, despite completely tearing her ACL in the World Cup race in Switzerland 30 days earlier.
Just 13 seconds into her Olympic run, Vonn crashed, severely injuring the same leg. The athlete could be heard crying out in pain before being airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he underwent four surgeries before returning to the United States.
Vonn later revealed that doctors were saving her leg from possible amputation.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg,” Vonn shared on social media on February 23. “He saved my leg from amputation. He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he opened up both sides of my leg and opened it up so he could talk, let it breathe, and he saved me.”
