Lindsey Vonn crashed hard on her Olympic return in the women’s downhill, nine days after rupturing her ACL.
Downhill is the 41-year-old’s speciality and she boasts an Olympic gold medal in the event, which she won at Vancouver 2010, but hopes of a victorious comeback six years on from retirement had been catastrophically hit by a serious knee injury suffered less than a fortnight out from the finals.
She opted to compete regardless of the injury but that horrifically backfired as she wiped out on the Cortina slopes. Replays of the crash show her shoulder catch a gate, her left foot twisting out – her left knee is the one with the ruptured ACL – and crashing very badly, rolling over several times.
The American could be heard wailing in agony as she was moved onto the stretcher before being airlifted out. Her compatriot Breezy Johnson currently leads the pack.
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