DOBBIACO, Italy — At a bus stop 45 minutes outside of Cortina d’Ampezzo, a frustrated German man tried to appeal to an Italian bus driver in broken English. “We drive 1,000 kilometers!” the German man pleaded. “How do we get to Cortina if bus won’t take? We must get to Cortina! Just few more kilometer!” On the bus, everyone assumed the man wanted to get to the host city of women’s Alpine skiing at these Winter Olympics for the same reason as the rest of us: to see if Lindsey Vonn could do the un
“We drive 1,000 kilometers!” the German man pleaded. “How do we get to Cortina if bus won’t take? We must get to Cortina! Just few more kilometer!”
On the bus, everyone assumed the man wanted to get to the host city of women’s Alpine skiing at these Winter Olympics for the same reason as the rest of us: to see if Lindsey Vonn could do the unthinkable and win a medal on one good, partially titanium knee after tearing the ACL in her other knee nine days prior.
But it was not to be — for the German or Vonn. The Italian bus driver shook his head, tossed his cigarette butt, and boarded the bus, as the German watched, incredulous.
A little more than two hours later, and less than 14 seconds after leaving the starting gate on the Olympia delle Tofane slope, Vonn crashed badly when she clipped the fourth gate midair, landed on one ski, and tumbled violently to the ground as thousands of spectators gasped in shock.
Vonn had to be airlifted off the course, taken away by helicopter as a somber crowd rose to its feet to applaud the five-time Olympian in what might be the final race of her career. It’s a heartbreaking ending for the woman the PA announcer repeatedly referred to as “The Queen of Cortina.”
Just seven skiers before Vonn, American Breezy Johnson had one of the best runs of her life to win gold for the first U.S. medal of these Games. Her win, combined with her teammate’s misfortune, left everyone from broadcasters to fans to fellow athletes unsure how to process it all.
“There was a lot of emotions already before I even ran,” said American Bella Wright, who started 11 skiers after Vonn’s crash and finished 20th. “I saw Breezy have an incredible run. I was really pumped and psyched for her. It was cool to watch. Then watching Lindsey go down from the start was pretty awful.”
Vonn returned to skiing after a partial replacement in her right knee left her pain-free for the first time in years. Favored to win gold in Cortina after dominating the World Cup circuit this season, her heartwarming story took a dramatic turn Jan. 30, after a bad crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, during the final tune-up before the Games.
She announced last week she’d completely ruptured her left ACL, also suffering a bone bruise and some meniscal tears, but planned to try skiing on it anyway. She looked solid in training runs Friday and Saturday, but it was impossible to know how her body would hold up Sunday. Her decision to compete despite such a severe injury drew praise, disbelief and criticism.
Hundreds of spectators crowded into the entry lines about 30 minutes before Vonn’s race, jostling for position to make sure they got a decent view. The buzz was palpable, as energy fizzed through the air. Dozens of athletes from other sports and countries made their way up the mountain to watch her.
On the shuttle to the grandstands, three German skeleton athletes chatted excitedly about finally being able to watch Vonn in person. Meanwhile, U.S. bobsled push athletes Sadie McMullen and Jadin O’Brien, both former track stars, reflected on the worst injuries they’d ever had while competing. They understood Vonn’s desire to push through pain.
“I don’t think she’s crazy,” McMullen said. “I think she’s got a lot of grit.”
O’Brien, who is competing in her first Olympics, remembered watching Vonn on TV at previous Games without knowing her full story. Before the Milan Cortina Games, she studied up, knowing if she had the opportunity to watch Vonn go for gold, she wanted to be there.
They thought hard about the coolest sporting achievements they’d ever witnessed. For O’Brien, it was winning three national titles in pentathlon while at Notre Dame and watching the Irish football team play for the 2025 College Football Playoff championship. For McMullen, it was sitting front row as American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis broke world records at various track meets. Vonn winning a medal on Sunday, they agreed, would probably soar to the top of the list.
But this time, there was no fairy-tale ending. Even when it was announced that Vonn’s U.S. teammate, the 30-year-old Johnson, had won gold, the crowd gave a half-hearted cheer at best.
When Vonn skidded into the snow, the crowd deflated. As the crowd realized how bad the crash was, gasps and groans quickly turned to defeating silence. When the helicopter flew into view, the stands started buzzing again, this time with nerves — was Vonn, who is beloved across the globe, going to be OK?
The answer to that question is still to be determined.
Hundreds of spectators left together after Vonn’s bid was over, as a previously packed grandstand quickly became littered with empty seats. The mood across the slopes turned noticeably subdued. Two other skiers crashed — including Cande Moreno of Andorra, who also had to be airlifted off the course — but barely drew a reaction from onlookers.
American Jacqueline Wiles, who finished fourth for her best Olympic result in three tries, spoke earlier this week of the sisterhood that develops when a team spends months traveling together in Europe. Saturday night at their pre-race meeting, they’d hyped each other up.
“We’re a family, and to watch someone that you care about so much, it really sucks, and my heart kind of just broke for her in that moment,” Wiles said.
Shocking as the crash was, the 10-minute span between Johnson’s run and Vonn’s fall was also a reminder of ski racing’s thin line between victory and catastrophe.
Wiles continued: “But that’s the inherent risk of this sport. We all know what can happen.”
In the postgame press conference, usually a jubilant experience for the medalists, Johnson got to revel in her victory for a single question before she was asked about Vonn.
“My heart aches for her,” Johnson said. “It’s a tough sport — that’s the beauty and the madness of it.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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