"There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it."
Lindsey Vonn’s skiing career, at least if her father can help it, is over.
Vonn was airlifted off a mountain after a horrific crash during the women's downhill on Sunday, ending her comeback attempt at the Olympics before it could really begin. She was transported to the Ca’Foncello Hospital in Treviso, Italy, where she underwent surgery to repair a fracture in her left leg. This came a little more than a week after announced she had torn her ACL in Switzerland, too.
Vonn is still recovering in the hospital with her dad, Alan Kidlow, and three siblings, by her side.
"She's 41 years old, and this is the end of her career," Kildow told The Associated Press on Monday. "There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it."
Kidlow did not provide any details of Vonn’s injuries or her recovery so far, but he said that he slept in her hospital room overnight last night. Someone has been with Vonn at all times since her crash, and they will “have people here as long as she’s here.”
Vonn won't be returning to the Olympics to watch or support her teammates. It's unclear how long she will be in the hospital, or when she can return home to the United States.
"She's a very strong individual," Kildow said. "She knows physical pain and she understands the circumstances that she finds herself in. And she's able to handle it. Better than I expected. She's a very, very strong person. And so I think she's handling it real well."
Vonn has won three Olympic medals throughout her career and she held the record for most World Cup victories when she retired in 2019, though that's since been overtaken by teammate Mikaela Shiffrin. Vonn opted for a return after she underwent a partial knee replacement in 2024, however. She said her body "felt so good" after that procedure.
And with the Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the site of her first World Cup podium and the place where she's won a record 12 World Cup races, it seemed like the perfect fit.
But just a week before the Opening Ceremony, Vonn crashed into a barrier in Switzerland and had to be airlifted off the course during a run. She completely tore her left ACL, but opted to compete in the Olympics anyways. That injury, her father said, had absolutely nothing to do with her crash on Sunday.
"What happened to her had nothing to do with the ACL issue on her left leg. Nothing," Kildow said. "She had demonstrated that she was able to function at a very high level with the two downhill training runs ... And she had been cleared by high-level physicians to ski."
Kidlow said that he and the rest of Vonn’s family in attendance had to watch the crash from the finish area with the rest of the spectators at the event.
"First, the shock and the horror of the whole thing, seeing a crash like that," Kildow said. "It can be dramatic and traumatic. You're just horrified at what those kinds of impacts have.
"You can go into a shock, an emotional psychological shock. Because it's difficult to just accept what's happened. But she's well cared for ... And the USOC and the U.S. Ski Team have a very, very top-notch doctor with her and she is being very well cared for here in Italy."
Category: General Sports
