Lindsey Vonn is sharing an update on her health five months after a devastating injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The skier, 41, crashed just 13 seconds into the women’s downhill event on February 8 and was airlifted to a hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery for a complex tibia fracture. The athlete had torn her ACL just a week before the event.
“It’s been a very slow process. It’s been five months since I’ve been able to actually go to the gym in a somewhat meaningful way. And walking is actually still really hard for me. My ankle is still broken,” Vonn told People at the ESPYs on Wednesday, July 15.
“I was in a wheelchair for so long. I was on crutches for so long,” she added. “It was honestly almost three and a half months that I was unable to walk unassisted. I got very emotional when I was able to walk on my own.”
In March, Vonn recalled the moment she crashed in an interview with Vanity Fair.
“My leg was broken. My skis were still on. My leg was torqued, and I couldn’t get my skis off. I couldn’t move, and I was yelling for help,” she remembered. “I just needed someone to take my skis off.”
Then, in April, Vonn opened up about her extensive rehabilitation after having multiple surgeries following her Olympic injuries.
“It’s a lot of rehab. Wake up at 7:30, breakfast at 8, 9 to 11 is rehab at my house,” she told The Athletic. “I have a little break, eat some food. Go to a hyperbaric chamber. Do about two hours with decompression in the hyperbaric, and then I come back and have a little break. And then usually work out from, like, 5 to 6:30, little break, shower, dinner.”
“That’s kind of my day every day, six days a week. Sunday is kind of a day off without a scheduled program. But I, of course, always go to the gym on my own,” she added.
In a July 7 Instagram post, Vonn detailed her rehab process, sharing a video of herself working out.
“I knew one day I’d get here, just didn’t know how long it would take me…” she captioned the post. “It took 5 months, but I’m finally here! Still a very long road ahead but my strength is coming back 💪🏻 (maybe more mentally than physically still but that’s not a bad thing ;).”
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