Lindsey Vonn confirmed Monday night she is back on American soil – more than a week after fracturing her tibia in a horror Winter Olympics crash.
“Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week… been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing,” the Olympics legend, 41, wrote on X.
She paid tribute to the medics in Italy who cared for while she was in hospital.
Vonn had already ruptured her ACL when she crashed out of the Games on Feb 8.
She has already had four surgeries — the latest being on Saturday — and is set to undergo more operations.
Vonn’s sister, Karin Kildow, told TMZ Sports the ski jumper isn’t looking too far ahead.
“She’s very strong, she’s getting through it… one day at a time,” she said.
Kildow didn’t confirm when Vonn would return to the US while speaking to the outlet.
Dr. Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, an orthopedic expert knee specialist, told France’s RMC Sport last week it could be months before Vonn can walk normally again.
Vonn shared video from inside the hospital on her Instagram Stories that showed her being washed.
“How lucky I am to have people that care,” she captioned one clip.
She re-posted a comment from tennis legend Novak Djokovic, who described Vonn as an inspiration and hero.
Over the past week, she kept fans up-to-date about her surgeries.
Vonn crashed out just 13.4 seconds into her run after getting hooked on a gate.
She was hurled into the air before she fell down the Dolomite mountain.
The stricken athlete was then airlifted off the course.
Vonn’s dad, Alan Kildow, told the Associated Press said her injury should mark the end of her career.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” he said at the time.
“There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
Vonn, who won gold in the women’s downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Games, retired from the sport in Feb. 2019 after suffering severe knee injuries.
She returned to skiing in 2024 – the same year she underwent a right knee replacement.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
