2026 Winter Olympics: Lindsey Vonn disputes doctor’s knee injury claim

Veteran skater Lindsey Vonn has disputed a doctor’s claim that her ACL injury is not a “new tear,” saying her ACL is “100% gone.”

American Vonn has now completed two impressive training runs for the Winter Olympics at the Olimpia delle Tufane in Cortina, just a week after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in a crash in a World Cup race in Switzerland.

Vonn, 41, clocked the third fastest time of the day in another session disrupted by weather, sparking speculation about what was considered a serious injury.

The second training bout came after she responded to a social media post from sports medicine doctor Brian Sotterer in which he claimed the 2010 Olympic downhill champion may have already been working on her torn ACL before the accident, which resulted in her being airlifted to the hospital.

“What was the condition of my ACL before the accident last week?” Sutterer wrote.

“What you are doing now would not be surprising to an elite athlete whose knee was already functioning like an ACL tear at baseline.”

“Thank you, Doc,” Vaughn replied. “My ACL was fully functional until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% torn. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”

“A person who has had a previous tear/surgery may not be as swollen and sore with a recurrence of the injury” and “the body has time to adapt and retrain the muscles to support the knee” if the injury is “chronic,” Sutterer suggested.

Vonn was 1.39 seconds off the fastest time of the day in Friday’s practice session, which took place in difficult weather and surface conditions.

On Saturday, her time improved, as she completed the race in one minute and 38.28 seconds, 0.37 seconds ahead of her compatriot Breezy Johnson, who recorded the fastest race, and was more than six seconds faster than the first round.

Vonn is scheduled to compete in the downhill competition on Sunday but is still unsure if she will compete in the Super-G and team events.