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Lindsey Vonn’s sister became emotional as she described watching the Olympic star take a bad fall during her race at the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday.
Vonn was in the first sector when she lost her balance and fell hard. He writhed in pain as medical professionals came to check on him. A medical helicopter flew in to lift Vonn off the mountain. It is unclear what caused the accident.
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Lindsey Vonn of the United States during women’s alpine skiing training at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center on February 7, 2026. (Michael Madrid/Image Images)
“That was definitely the last thing we wanted to see,” his sister, Karin Kildow, told NBC Sports. “It happened fast. So when that happens, you immediately hope that she’s okay. It was scary because when you start seeing the stretchers being rolled out, it’s not a good sign. But we were saying, like, ‘Man in the Sand.’ She just went so daring and did it all, so it’s really hard to watch, but we really hope she’s okay.”
Kildow added that Vonn, who was dealing with a torn ACL days before the Olympics, was going to give it her all, knowing the result could have been disastrous.
“She always goes 110% and there is never less. I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes things happen,” he said. “It’s a very dangerous sport and there are a lot of variables at play. I don’t really know exactly what happened. It seemed like a pretty hard fall. We just hope for the best.”
A helicopter lifts Lindsey Vonn of the United States after a crash in the women’s downhill alpine skiing race during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center on February 8, 2026. (Eric Bolte/Image Images)
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Kildow, like the rest of the crowd, was shocked when Vonn crashed.
The Olympic legend was attempting to win a medal in the event despite a devastating knee injury he suffered during the World Cup. He made it clear in subsequent social media posts that his ACL was “100% gone.”
A torn ACL typically involves a recovery that lasts about a year, but Vonn planned to fight through it.
He had a successful training run and seemed to have put the drive behind him to at least finish the race.
The Team USA legend is the second most successful woman in World Cup history with 84 wins. He has won eight medals at the World Championships.
Lindsey Vonn of the United States crashes during a women’s alpine ski race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Vonn won a gold medal in downhill and a bronze medal in super G at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a bronze medal in downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
