Lindsey Vonn gets candid about grueling recovery following life-threatening crash
LINDSEY VONN (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Disney via Getty Images) (Disney via Getty Images)
Alpine ski star Lindsey Vonn proved that she was back and better than ever with a glowing appearance at the ESPY Awards in New York City on Wednesday night, more than four months after her horrific crash at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The gold medalist crashed just 13 seconds into her women’s downhill event in February, leading to a complex fracture to her left tibia and an array of other serious injuries.
She also suffered from compartment syndrome, a condition caused by pressure building inside the muscles, for which she required emergency surgery in the field.
The 41-year-old looked incredible at the ESPYs in a sparkling metallic gown with one long sleeve and a slightly cinched waist, which she paired with a stunning blowout hairstyle. Lindsey gave an update on her health journey to People on the red carpet, sharing that she was grateful to be on the mend.
“It’s been a very slow process,” she explained. “It’s been five months since I’ve been able to actually go to the gym in a somewhat meaningful way. And walking is actually still really hard for me. My ankle is still broken.”
“I was in a wheelchair for so long, I was on crutches for so long,” the Olympian continued. “It was honestly almost three and a half months that I was unable to walk unassisted. I got very emotional when I was able to walk on my own.”
When asked by E! News if she ever saw herself returning to the slopes, Lindsey explained that she still had “a long way to go”.
Learn more about Lindsey’s recovery below…
“I still have no ACL, so I need to fix that. I need to get all the metal out of my leg, and then we’ll assess,” she told the outlet. “I may not have done everything that I wanted to do, but I’ve done a lot, and I have to be proud of myself for that,” the athlete continued, before adding that she had come a long way since the accident.
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“I was so low; I just felt like no matter what I did, I wasn’t making progress, and I was crying a lot…[but] I think I’ve trusted myself more than I thought I could.”
“In the end, when you’re recovering from something, there is no option; there’s no failure in rehab, you have to keep doing it. I’ve stuck it out.” Lindsey had no shortage of supporters at the glamorous awards show, as she took to the stage to thunderous applause before presenting the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award to basketball star Steph Curry.
Lindsey is one of history’s most decorated skiers, having won 84 World Cup ski races throughout her career as well as gold and bronze medals at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 and a bronze at the South Korean Olympics in 2018.
She announced her retirement in 2019 due to injuries, but returned to the sport five years later after a knee replacement and became the oldest woman to place at the Ski World Cup finals in 2025.
