Amna Nawaz:
When she retired in 2019, Lindsey Vonn was already considered one of the greatest U.S. skiers of all time, four World Cup titles, three Olympic medals, including the first gold for an American woman in downhill skiing, and 82 wins at World Cup events.
But, in 2024, at the age of 40, Vonn returned to the slopes, once again competing at the highest level and becoming the oldest World Cup winner in history. In February, the world watched as she chased another Olympic medal in Italy, just 13 seconds into that run, a devastating crash, Vonn airlifted off the course with a broken ankle and complex fractures in her leg.
I recently spoke with Lindsey Vonn and began by asking her how she’s doing five surgeries and just a few months after that crash.
Lindsey Vonn, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist:
I’m doing better, thanks.
It’s still very slow and I’m trying to make progress as best I can, but I’m in a lot better shape than I was when everyone last saw me, that’s for sure.
Amna Nawaz:
I mean, to watch it as viewers was horrifying. It’s unimaginable what it was like for you to live through that just 13 seconds into that downhill run. In the moment, did you know the extent of your injuries? Did how serious it was at the time?
Lindsey Vonn:
Yes, I knew immediately that I’d broken my leg. I didn’t know how badly it was broken. I was hoping that it wasn’t a compound fracture. And then I was — I remember telling the doctor, please don’t let me get compartment syndrome, which I did.
And, unfortunately, there was nothing that anyone could have done about that. That’s really dependent upon how much trauma is in your body. And, of course, my leg was broken in quite a few places. But I actually didn’t really know the severity of everything as a whole until I actually left Italy and was on my way to the U.S.
And then my doctor kind of broke everything down for me step by step on what happened and where things were getting really serious and how he managed to manage the whole situation and make sure that I saved my leg and he was able to make the right decisions, so that I could be where I am now.
Amna Nawaz:
I mean, you are no stranger to comebacks. I think that’s fair to say you have got a partial knee replacement and you came back to compete after retiring. It was just days before your Olympic competition that you torn your ACL, which would have been season-ending for a number of people.
Is it resilience? Is it stubbornness? Is it determination? Like, what is it in you that you tell yourself that keeps you going in those moments?
Lindsey Vonn:
It’s probably everything that you mentioned.
I’m definitely a person that, if I set my mind to something, I will work as hard as it takes to get to where I want to go. I think if — I think my body responded really well to tearing my ACL. There was really not a lot of other damage, relatively speaking. And with the amount of time I had to do rehab, which I spent 12 hours a day for those five or six days leading up to the Games purely doing rehab and getting my knee ready to be able to compete again.
But that’s my determination. And, also, I just wasn’t going to quit. I was determined to be in these Olympics. And I didn’t want to give up until I knew that was the only way forward.
And, to be honest, I made a smart decision. I wasn’t — I didn’t just whimsically decide to race in the Olympics. I made sure that I consulted my doctor and my coaches and my P.T.s. Everyone agreed that I was safe enough to race.
So, if I hadn’t have worked as hard as I did, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but I also had the support of everyone around me. And it was a difficult decision, but I still got third in the downhill training run. So, I knew physically I was in a good spot leading up to those Games.
Amna Nawaz:
Even after all of those injuries, I see you have been posting updates online, sharing your recovery and your progress with all your fans who are following along. Physically, what are you able to do and not do just yet?
Lindsey Vonn:
Well, I’m on crutches now. I have worked my way off of the wheelchair, but I still can’t go long distances.
So when I was traveling here to New York, I still needed help. I was in a wheelchair for that. But I’m actually supposed to be trying to work my way off of crutches here soon. Again, it’ll be really short distances, but I will be 10 weeks out as of Monday. So, slowly, but surely, I’m getting there.
I’m still unable to do any weight training. My rehab exercises are pretty limited for me anyways. I would always love to be doing more in the gym, but I’m trying to do — follow the doctor’s orders and really be meticulous and slow about how I come back from this injury.
But, yes, working my way off crutches, walking without assistance is my big goal.
Amna Nawaz:
So, for nearly 10 weeks now, you haven’t been able to walk on your own just yet. That has to be — especially for someone like you, that has to be really frustrating.
Lindsey Vonn:
Yes. Especially while I was in a wheelchair, I was really 100 percent dependent on people helping me, and I’m a very independent person. So that was hard. I feel like at times I was a burden and I don’t like feeling that way, which I don’t think was a case necessarily, but that’s kind of how I perceived it in my mind.
So now that I’m able to do more, I feel better. But I think it’s more mentally challenged at this point than physically.
Amna Nawaz:
I know you’re working with this biopharmaceutical company too as a spokesperson, Invivyd, to raise awareness for this Antibodies for Any Body campaign. Why is that? Is that antibody therapy something that’s been a part of your recovery?
Lindsey Vonn:
As an athlete, of course, I always want to take care of myself. And I have been really cautious about getting sick my whole career. Even if I look back to Vancouver, when I was flying over from Europe, I was wearing a mask and gloves, which everyone thought I was crazy, but I just couldn’t afford to get sick.
And I think also, as an athlete, we assume that we have all the information, but it’s actually really hard to know what’s true and what’s not. And what’s actually important for you and not. And so this campaign, Antibodiesforanybody.com is an amazing way to educate everyone on what antibodies do for you.
They fight against germs and toxins. It just helps you kind of understand the choices that you make in your daily life that affect your health and your immune system and just gives you more information.
Amna Nawaz:
So you have been out recently talking about your recovery, talking about your plans ahead as well. And you recently said you had not ruled out returning to the Olympics in 2030.
You said: “I would only do it if I could be as fast, but we will see.”
Really, we will see? You could be back on the slopes.
Lindsey Vonn:
I don’t know. I feel like I have gone through such a wheel of emotions since I crashed. And I, of course, don’t want to end my career on that run at the Olympics. But I’m also a realistic person.
I know the chances of that are probably low, and for a good reason, but I’m just not in a place to make any decisions yet. I feel like I need to get healthy first and then I can really assess my life and where I am. I was retired for six years and I had an amazing life. And in a lot of ways, I’m so excited to get back to it.
But I know that if I — if I’m physically healthy, I could still be competitive in ski racing if I wanted to. So it just depends on where I am. And I don’t know where I will be even next week, let alone in a year. So it’ll just take some time. But I’m sure when I make the decision, I will let you guys know.
Amna Nawaz:
Well, we will be watching and waiting for what comes next.
Lindsey Vonn, we’re wishing you a full recovery. Thank you so much for making the time. Pleasure to speak with you.
Lindsey Vonn:
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Amna Nawaz:
And there’s a lot more online, including a lightning round Q&A with Lindsey Vonn. That’s at PBS.org/NewsHour.
