Tragic Details About Olympian Lindsey Vonn's Health Struggles Over The Years

There is no doubting that Lindsey Vonn is one of the greatest alpine ski racers of all time. Since Vonn's professional debut at the 2000 World Cup at just 16, Vonn has won 14 medals, including three at the Olympics. Along with that impressive feat, Vonn has placed in the top three at the World Cup 145 times, with 84 first place wins, making her one of only six women to have won all five disciplines of alpine skiing at the event.

Through it all, Vonn has suffered a number of injuries, but she has continued to find the will power to keep competing. Just days before her first event at the 2026 Olympics, Vonn revealed that she was injured again at the World Cup in Switzerland, saying "I completely ruptured my ACL" (via The Athletic). But even with that, the sports icon still planned to participate in Italy, telling the press "I've been in this position before. I know how to handle it." The ACL injury, which happened when she fell during a downhill race in Crans-Montana, is far from the first time Vonn has found herself hurt. As with all professional athletes, she knows that injuries are part of the job.

It was six years into Lindsey Vonn's professional career when she suffered her first significant injury. The skier crashed during a training session at the 2006 Olympics and had to be airlifted off the mountain. Luckily, aside from a bruised thigh and a backache, she was okay and was able to compete days later. A year later, Vonn suffered an ACL sprain when she fell during a training run at the 2007 World Championship. This time, the injury was enough to end her season, but not before she won two silver medals. 

Vonn's next injury came in February 2009, but it didn't happen on the slopes. The athlete was posing for photos after winning the gold in the downhill at the World Championships when she sliced her thumb open on a champagne bottle, cutting the tendon. In December of the same year, Vonn bruised her left arm when she took a rough hit competing in the giant slalom at the World Cup. 

Just 10 days before the 2010 Winter Olympics, Lindsey Vonn slammed her right leg practicing for the slalom, bruising her shin. To heal the injury before the competition kicked off, Vonn used the usual medication and added something special; Vonn spread Austrian cheese on her shin to reduce the inflammation. At the Olympics, Vonn became the first American woman to win the gold for downhill, but the slalom continued to be a problem for her. During the giant slalom, she hit the ground and ended up breaking her right pinkie. A year later, Vonn suffered a concussion while practicing at the World Cup and was forced to withdraw from the event. 

2013 was particularly rough for Vonn. In February, she had to have reconstructive surgery after tearing her ACL and MCL as well as fracturing her right knee at the World Championships. In December, she tore her previously repaired ACL during the downhill race at the World Cup.

Lindsey Vonn was forced to sit out the 2014 Olympics due to her injuries, but still participated as an NBC correspondent. Vonn returned to competing in December of that year, and won the downhill at the World Cup. In 2015, Vonn fractured her left ankle while at training camp, but was ready to compete just 10 weeks later. In February 2016, she fractured her left knee in three places after tumbling during the super-G at the World Cup. Then, in November, Vonn fractured the humerus in her right arm while training in Colorado. The injury caused severe nerve damage, leaving her unable to move her fingers. Vonn opened up about her recovery on Facebook, calling it the hardest of her career and saying that "I am still struggling to do simple things like put on my ski glove and do my hair, but I'm at a point where I am comfortable with my hand in most situations."

In 2018, Vonn suffered a torn LCL and fractures in her left leg while training, but continued to compete. But the rigor that comes from nearly two decades of competing and a long list of injuries led to Vonn announcing that she planned to retire at the end of the season, telling the press, (via BBC) "Physically, I've gotten to the point where it doesn't make sense."

In 2024, Lindsey Vonn had partial knee replacement surgery on her right knee. The initial decision to get a titanium knee was purely for comfort, as Vonn was unable to walk without limping and being in pain. But, per The New York Times, Vonn soon found herself feeling better than she had in ages, and just 20 months later, Vonn entered the 2016 Winter Olympics hoping for one last hurrah, saying "I leave something behind that's more than just, you know, being a ski racer."

Even outside of her many injuries, Lindsey Vonn has suffered many tragedies. And living her life as a public figure means that Vonn has had to deal with more than most, including having her romance with golf superstar Tiger Woods analyzed by the press. But through it all, Vonn has shown the determination and grit to be one of the most successful athletes in the world.