Lindsey Vonn's Friend Cries Live on Air After Skier Crashes at 2026 Winter Olympics: 'Absolute Nightmare'

NEED TO KNOW

• Lindsey Vonn's friend Chemmy Alcott was emotional on air while reporting for BBC Sport
• Alcott called Vonn's crash "an absolute nightmare"
• Vonn crashed just 13 seconds into her race at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Fans all over the world were stunned to see legendary skier Lindsey Vonn’s devastating crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics — and so was her friend Chemmy Alcott, who was commentating live on the race for BBC Sport.

Alcott, a British Olympic skier, held back tears as she presented from the scene in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, where Vonn crashed while competing in the women’s downhill event on Sunday, Feb. 8.

“I actually feel guilty that I’m this emotional, but when we thought about the end of this story… I just never believed that it would end in her in a clump at the side of the piece not moving,” Alcott said. “This is an absolute nightmare. It’s an absolute nightmare.”

The 43-year-old could be heard crying as she said the “whole world is watching” Vonn, who was competing on a ruptured ACL following a crash last week.

“Yes, we wanted to watch her come to the finish smiling because she was fast, but we wanted to just see her take on this challenge, and it’s just really tough,” said Alcott. “I feel so bad that I feel this way, because think about her family and all of her team and herself. I mean, oh, so sad.”

Alcott previously celebrated Vonn in 2019, when the star first announced her retirement (She later came out of retirement following a successful 2024 knee replacement).

In a post on X, Alcott praised Vonn as a “pioneer of women’s skiing” and a “history maker.”

“She changed our sport for the better in so many ways and women’s ski racing will forever owe her so much,” Alcott wrote.

Vonn was just 13 seconds into her race when she crashed. She remained on the ground for more than 15 minutes before she was airlifted off the mountain.

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team shared an update hours later, writing on social media that Vonn “sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”

Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow spoke to NBC shortly after the crash, and acknowledged that while the crash was “scary,” her sister “always goes 100%” in all that she does.

“I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes, just, like, things happen,” Kildow said. “It’s a very dangerous sport. And there are a lot of variables at play. I don’t really know exactly what happened. It did look like a pretty rough fall. We’re just hoping for the best."

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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