Lindsey Vonn Shuts Down Doctor’s Speculation About Her Ruptured ACL After Training Run with Injury: ‘Lol Thanks, Doc’

NEED TO KNOW

• Lindsey Vonn responded to a doctor who speculated about her ACL rupture after she completed a downhill training run at the Olympics one week after the knee injury
• The Olympic skier also called out an opinion piece about her decision to compete with the injury for “ageism”
• Vonn plans to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 8, with the ACL rupture

When it comes to speculation about her ACL injury, Lindsey Vonn is not having it.

One week after she “completely” ruptured the ACL of her left knee, the celebrated skier, 41, completed her first downhill training run at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday, Feb. 6.

A doctor speculated about the nature of Vonn's injury in response to a post celebrating the feat, and the athlete — who is set to return to the Milano Cortina Olympics after six years of retirement — cleared the air in a reply.

Brian Joseph Sutterer, a sports medicine doctor known for his online explainer videos, responded to the post celebrating Vonn’s “unbelievable” training run post-injury on X on Feb. 6, writing, “There’s a VERY important aspect of this that we do not know — What was the state of her ACL before the crash last week?”

“What she is doing now would not be nearly as surprising in an elite athlete whose knee was already functioning like the ACL was torn at baseline,” he continued of the three-time Olympic medalist. “When you hear stories about ‘so and so played for years on a torn ACL’, that’s chronic, meaning the body has time to adapt and retrain muscles to support the knee.”

“Also, someone who had a prior tear/surgery may not be as swollen and painful with a repeat injury,” Sutterer added, before giving his two cents about Vonn’s headline-making injury: “Bottom line, I don’t think this was a bread and butter, fresh ACL tear like everyone is thinking.”

But Vonn herself begged to differ, shutting down Sutterer’s speculation about the severity and timeline of her knee injury, which happened in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, after she lost control and ended up in the safety nets amid low visibility.

“Lol thanks doc,” the athlete replied on X. “My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday.”

“Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible,” she continued. “And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”

The doctor replied to Vonn's response by inquiring further about the athlete’s injury history, writing, “Any prior ACL injuries in that knee? If so, the knee can absolutely learn to compensate in a very functional way.”

He also clarified his comments, insisting that his initial post was not an attempt to take away from how “impressive” Vonn’s Olympic training run was, given the circumstances.

“I’m not trying to minimize your accomplishment, it’s insanely impressive,” he wrote, adding that “as a sports medicine doctor who takes care of high level athletes and every day folks, there is some nuance in how quickly people can function after an ACL tear and that’s what im curious about as we communicate stories like this to the public.”

“Best of luck, I truly am rooting for you,” added the doctor.

Vonn also called out Greg Graber, a sports medicine educator, on X for “ageism” over an opinion piece he penned for USA Today about her injury, titled, “Lindsey Vonn is skiing with a torn ACL. The pain may be the point.”

In the article, he wrote, "It is astonishing enough that the 41-year-old is still performing on this elite level, much less with a serious injury that would end many alpine skiing careers."

Replying to a since-deleted X post about the story on Saturday, Feb. 7, Vonn said, “I’m sorry Greg but this is a very odd opinion piece. The pain and suffering is the point? I’m searching for meaning? Why am I taking risk ‘at my age?’ This ageism stuff is getting really old.”

“My life does not revolve around ski racing. I am a woman that loves to ski,” she continued. “I don’t have an identity issue, I know exactly who I am. I was retired for 6 years and I have an amazing life. I don’t need to ski, but I love to ski. I came all this way for one final Olympics and I’m going to go and do my best, ACL or no. It’s as simple as that.”

“And respectfully,” added Vonn, "if you don’t know the story, it might be best not to make assumptions."

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Vonn still plans to compete in the downhill medal event, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8 in Cortina.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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