Lindsey Vonn has broken her silence after a crash during the women’s downhill event that took place during the Olympic Games on Sunday, Feb. 8. Vonn, 41, was just 13 seconds into her run when her shoulder clipped a gate and she lost control. Once she landed, Vonn screamed out in pain. She was airlifted to a local hospital where she underwent surgery to stabilize her leg.
On Monday, Feb. 9, Vonn was back on Instagram with a message for all of her fans.
“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches,” Vonn wrote in a lengthy caption.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever,” she continued, apparently responding to online criticism about her deciding to compete in the Olympics despite having a torn ACL.
Vonn went on to say that she fractured her tibia and that she will need to undergo “multiple surgeries” to fix.
In the aftermath of the horrific crash, Vonn’s father, Alan Kildow told the Associated Press that his daughter’s career is over.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Kildow said. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it,” he added.