2026 Olympic Games: Canada takes home bronze in women’s slopestyle skiing

Vonn had 2 surgeries on broken leg

Lindsey Vonn broke her left leg yesterday in a devastating crash seconds into her run on the women’s downhill. We’re now learning that Vonn has had to undergo not one but two operations to her leg.

The US ski racing phenom had come out of retirement at 41 to attempt gold at Milano-Cortina, ruptured her ACL nine days before the competition, and almost miraculously was back on the slopes for trial runs Saturday.

Reuters is reporting a joint team of local orthopedic and plastic surgeons operated on Vonn with procedures to help stabilize her and prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow.

Her personal doctor was present but only assisted while Italian surgeons led the procedures, the source said.

The US ski team had inspected several facilities before selecting Treviso, some 125 km from Cortina, favoring it over a closer hospital in Belluno because Treviso also has a neurosurgery department, the source said.

Hospitals in Milan and Innsbruck, Austria, were also considered, but Treviso was deemed best placed to handle the complexity of Vonn’s injury.

The case has highlighted a broader debate in elite sports over who decides when an injured athlete is fit to compete and what message those decisions send.