Lindsey Vonn has fired back at the ‘haters’ who said she was ‘selfish’ to ski at the Winter Olympics despite suffering a serious knee injury days before the Games.
‘I did it. I came back. I won,’ the US skiing legend told her critics in a defiant message sent from her hospital bed.
Vonn, 41, was dreaming of a second gold medal when she embarked on a remarkable return to the Olympics in Milan Cortina.
Shortly before the Games, however, Vonn tore her ACL. She decided to still compete, only to suffer a nasty broken leg after crashing during the women’s downhill final on February 8.
The American has spent most of the last two weeks in the hospital and on Wednesday, she underwent yet another surgery – her fifth since she suffered the complex tibia fracture.
Vonn faced some backlash after choosing to compete in Italy, rather than give up her spot to someone else. She admitted the criticism ‘stung’ but in a statement on social media, the 41-year-old defended her decision.
Lindsey Vonn has undergone five surgeries since hurting her leg at the Winter Olympics
The 41-year-old has fired back at the ‘haters’ who said she was ‘selfish’ to ski at the Games
‘It wasn’t all for nothing… it wasn’t a dream… although sitting in this hospital bed it seems far away now,’ Vonn wrote. ‘But I did it. I came back. I won. I showed up and did what most thought was impossible at my age with a partial knee replacement.
‘These memories I’ll have forever and I’m grateful for every one of them. Every moment was amazing. Every moment was worth it.
‘One thing that stung was when people said I was selfish and should give my Olympic spot to someone else. So… I just wanted to recap my season for all the haters out there that don’t understand what it means to earn your spot.’
The 41-year-old then listed her achievements over recent months, which included being ranked No 1 in the downhill standings.
‘It’s not impossible until it’s done,’ Vonn continued. ‘I didn’t reach my ultimate goal…. But I still did a lot. Thank you to those who believed!’
Vonn has been documenting her recovery and, earlier this week, she joked that she is ‘bionic’ as she revealed the full extent of the damage to her left leg.
Five surgeries have left the 41-year-old with dozens of metal screws in her leg to repair the fractured bone. The latest took more than six hours to complete.
‘With the extent of the trauma, I’ve been struggling a bit post op and have not yet been able to be discharged from the hospital just yet… almost there. Baby steps,’ Vonn wrote. ‘Will explain the injury and what it all means soon.’
The Olympic legend shared an X-ray of her surgically-repaired leg to social media on Friday
The skiing legend suffered a broken left leg after she crashed in the women’s downhill
Medical crews arrived to tend to Vonn after she remained down on the piste in Italy
Her body already contained titanium implants after she underwent a reconstruction in her right knee back in 2024.
She launched her second career comeback shortly after the reconstruction, ending a five-year retirement. Remarkably, Vonn triumphed at the opening women’s World Cup downhill of the season in December.
But then disaster struck a week before the Winter Olympics when she tore her ACL in a crash at Crans-Montana in Switzerland. Despite medical concerns, Vonn attempted to compete on the torn ligament at the Games but crashed just 13 seconds into her downhill final run.
Vonn was heard screaming after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel before being strapped to a gurney and flown away by helicopter.
The American claimed that the existing injury had no influence over what happened and remarkably vowed to ski again one day in the future.
Following her fourth operation last weekend, she was discharged from the hospital and allowed to return to the United States, where she underwent a fifth procedure.
