Karin and Laura Kildow, Lindsey Vonn’s younger sisters, held hands before their older sibling entered the starting gate at the Olympic women’s downhill competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Sunday. Along with the rest of the world, they awaited to see if she could pull off the impossible: win an Olympic medal, maybe even a gold, at 41, following not only knee replacement surgery on her right knee, but a ruptured ACL in her left one, which she suffered in a downhill crash a little more than a week ago. Repeat: a week ago.
On Super Bowl Sunday, this high-speed downhill—already the most prestigious race in all of skiing—had become a sort of Super Bowl stand-in at these Olympics. In the second row, Karin wore a black cowboy hat and a Team USA jacket. Laura wore a blue USA beanie. Karin’s left hand clutched Laura’s right one. Karin closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
Their father, Alan Kildow, stood upright by their side. They all knew the risks of this Olympic run, of Vonn’s determination to finish her comeback. Vonn took deep breaths too, and jumped out of the gate, but some 13 seconds into her race, her arm clipped a gate, and she spun and tumbled hard down the course. Karin screamed in horror, and bowed her head. Laura recoiled, and closed her eyes. Alan crossed his arms, stoic for the moment. Soon afterwards, he reached under the left lens of his sunglasses, seeming to wipe away a tear. He bit his bottom lip.
Read more: Inside Lindsey Vonn’s Unprecedented Attempt at an Olympic Comeback
The venue went eerily silent, except for the completely incongruous dance music playing over a loudspeaker. Couldn’t someone make that stop? About a half-dozen emergency personnel attended to Vonn on the mountain. She appeared to clutch her left knee. She screamed. Some ten minutes later, a yellow helicopter flew over the mountain. Vonn was airlifted off the course. The crowd waved to Vonn as she was taken away.
On their way out of the venue, Karin and Laura stopped to take some pictures and exchange words with Snoop Dogg, who was in Cortina in his capacity as NBC roving correspondent. Snoop was wearing a Vonn shirt. Under the stands, Karin and Laura joined a few other people for a group hug. “I will say that Snoop Dogg really picked me up,” Laura told TIME moments later. “He said, ‘Stay strong for Lindsey.’ That’s helping me right now. It looked really bad, but I’m glad that we’re all here.” Karin cited “Man In The Arena,” the famous Teddy Roosevelt speech. “The people who dare greatly are the ones that should be admired, and she dared greatly,” Karin tells TIME through tears. “She dared greatly. She put it all on the line.” In a statement, U.S. Ski and Snowboard said Vonn had “sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”
For Vonn’s immediate family—her mother, Linda Anne Krohn, died of ALS in 2022—the clear, beautiful morning in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range started out with so much hope. Vonn loved racing in Cortina, and the prospect of finishing her Olympic career in this beloved location was an impetus for her comeback. Before Vonn’s Olympic race, Karin told TIME she had been sick to her stomach the previous few days. Her worry made her cry. But she was calm now.
After Vonn injured her knee at the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics, Karin had reminded her older sister that she did not have to compete in the Games. After all, her outstanding results on the World Cup circuit this season—two race wins, four more podiums—already certified her status as an all-time great athlete. Only a fool would question a decision to skip the Games to preserve her health.
“She said, ‘Never, ever say that to me again,’” says Karin.
Alan did his yoga and meditation the morning of the race, and wanted to make a point in a pre-race conversation with TIME. He lives in Vail, Colo., and many older people have been coming up to him in recent weeks, telling him that Vonn’s comeback has inspired them on their own quests for athletic longevity, even if only on a recreational level. What she was doing transcended skiing.
Lindsey texted her father that morning, telling him she’s got this.
After the crash, as Alan was about to make his own exit, he was asked if he wanted to share any thoughts. Maybe later, he said. First, he wanted to check up on his daughter.
“I think she’s pretty badly hurt.”
