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Lindsey Vonn Set for Fourth Surgery After Olympic Downhill Crash, Hopes to Fly Home

Surgeons report a comminuted tibia fracture stabilized with an external fixator, leaving the recovery timeline unclear.

Overview

  • Vonn said in a hospital video she has undergone three operations and is scheduled for a fourth today, with a likely fifth procedure after returning to the United States.
  • She remains hospitalized in Treviso, is largely immobile, and said the next operation is intended to make travel home possible once doctors complete further imaging.
  • Orthopaedic specialists describe the injury as severe and unpredictable in recovery, noting the use of an external fixator and warning that extreme complications can occur.
  • The 41-year-old crashed 13 seconds into the Olympic downhill after clipping a gate, was treated on course, and was airlifted to Ca' Foncello Hospital.
  • Her fall came nine days after she ruptured the ACL in the same leg during a World Cup crash, a setback she chose to race through during her Olympic comeback.