What to Know
If Lindsey Vonn‘s dad has any say in the matter, we’ve already seen the Olympian compete for the very last time. After she broke her leg during the downhill competition last week, her father (and former ski racer) Alan Kildow is speaking out about his daughter’s future in the sport, and while she’s still recovering, it sounds like he’s concerned enough for her health that he’s hoping she won’t compete ever again.
Lindsey suffered a massive injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Just a little over a week after Lindsey tore her ACL, she found herself injured again on Sunday after she decided to compete at the 2026 Olympics anyway. She could be heard screaming by the crowd as she was loaded into a helicopter to get medical care.
She is still hospitalized in Treviso, Italy as she receives treatment for her broken leg, which is expected to require multiple surgeries. However, while talking to the Associated Press, her dad, Alan, said that her injury had “nothing to do” with her previous ACL tear.
“She had demonstrated that she was able to function at a very high level with the two downhill training runs,” he said. “And she had been cleared by high level physicians to ski.”
Her father doesn’t want her to compete again after her recovery.
Lindsey’s family was there to see her injury happen at the Olympics, so of course, they’re concerned for her, especially her dad.
“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Alan said. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
While Lindsey is hospitalized, someone from her family is always with her after the “shock” they experienced seeing her fall play out.
“It can be dramatic and traumatic. You’re just horrified at what those kinds of impacts have,” he said. “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.”
He said that Lindsey has been “strong” through it all.
Alan also praised his daughter’s emotional strength, telling the AP, “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.”
Lindsey herself also spoke out after her injury in a post on Instagram, writing, “While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.”
