{"id":573105,"date":"2026-02-07T15:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T15:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/573105\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T15:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T15:03:19","slug":"lindsey-vonn-wants-to-defy-the-odds-and-win-gold-with-a-ruptured-acl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/573105\/","title":{"rendered":"Lindsey Vonn wants to defy the odds and win gold with a ruptured ACL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Lindsey Vonn<\/a>\u2019s mental coach didn\u2019t need to be at her side after her most recent crash. All the way from Sacramento, and watching the race on TV, he knew what her disposition would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the minute she crashed that she would race [in the Olympics] if there was any opportunity to race,\u201d said Armando Gonzalez<\/a>, who has worked closely with the ski-racing legend since 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019d go out there and be the last gladiator standing if it were up to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 41, Vonn is pushing her body to the limit, competing in the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics<\/a> despite suffering a complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, along with meniscus and bone damage in a Jan. 30 crash in a downhill race in Crans Montana, Switzerland.<\/p>\n

On Friday, a week after that World Cup accident, she completed her first downhill training run. On a day when fog delayed competition at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina, Vonn completed the course in 1 minute, 40.33 seconds, putting her in ninth place through 15 competitors and less than a second off the leader.<\/p>\n

She wore a brace to protect her injured left knee. The ACL acts as a stabilizer in the knee, preventing it from buckling and keeping the tibia from moving too far forward. It\u2019s essential to rotational stability, which plays a role in sudden movements and jumping. Downhill ski racers are not running backs or point guards, however, and don\u2019t make those same jolting lateral moves and therefore, experts say, are better able to compensate for a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

Still, Vonn has a remarkably high pain threshold.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer ability to overcome injury, to push through, her mental attitude, her resilience, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d said Shawna Niles, her massage therapist.<\/p>\n

\"Lindsey <\/p>\n

Lindsey Vonn crosses the finish line after her downhill training run Friday.<\/p>\n

(Al Bello \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

At an Olympics news conference this week, Vonn said her knee felt stable, not swollen, and that she will be ready to compete Sunday in the women\u2019s downhill. She has been in intensive therapy this week, posting videos of her squatting, jumping and moving laterally in a knee brace.<\/p>\n

Even some fellow Olympians are astonished.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe appears to be quite superhuman at times, and she is that right now,\u201d said Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen<\/a>, who said Vonn \u201chas been an inspiration for me ever since I was introduced to skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Times, Gonzalez said the latest comeback \u201cisn\u2019t about proving anything to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gonzalez and Niles were made available to The Times by FIGS<\/a>, the official scrubwear of the USA medical team at the Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about defying the odds,\u201d Gonzalez said of Vonn, \u201cand being the competitor who always finds a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vonn, a three-time Olympic medalist, is attempting an astounding comeback after almost six years removed from racing and a partial titanium knee replacement in 2024. She had 84 World Cup wins<\/a> in 21 seasons, making her among the most decorated ski racers in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, in my career, I\u2019ve had a lot of challenges,\u201d she told reporters. \u201cI have always pushed the limits and in downhill, it\u2019s a very dangerous sport, and anything can happen. And because I push the limits, I crash and I\u2019ve been injured more times than I would like to admit, to myself even.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut those are the cards I\u2019ve been dealt in my life, and I\u2019m going to play my cards the best way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the injury that would sideline even elite athletes, Vonn called this Olympic opportunity \u201cicing on the cake\u201d of her storied career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never expected to be here,\u201d she said. \u201cI felt like this was an amazing opportunity to close out my career in a way that I wanted to. It hasn\u2019t gone exactly the way I wanted it to, but I don\u2019t have any regrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still here. I think I\u2019m still able to fight. I think I\u2019m still able to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"U.S. <\/p>\n

U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn takes part in a downhill training run Friday at Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.<\/p>\n

(Mattia Ozbot \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Gonzalez said that Vonn began working with him after her 2019 retirement from the race circuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, `I need to realize that I\u2019m more than just a skier,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of our work was helping her make peace with walking away.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that she never really had a chance to establish an identity outside of skiing because she was such a phenom, and so squarely in the public spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce she separated her identity from skiing,\u201d he said, \u201cshe became free to love the craft again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mental coaching now, Gonzalez said, has \u201cmostly been helping minimize the noise that comes with being in the public eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no crucible more scrutinized in the sport than the Olympic Games. And Vonn, who is scheduled to race in the downhill, super-G and possibly the new team combined event, is prepared to go despite the physical challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not letting this slip through my fingers,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to do it, end of story. … I\u2019m not crying. My head is high. I\u2019m standing tall and I\u2019m going to do my best, whatever the result is.\u201d<\/p>\n