Key Points

  • Lindsey Vonn trains for 2026 Olympics despite a recently torn ACL.
  • Vonn says, “I will do everything in my power to be in the starting gate.”
  • A torn ACL is a serious knee injury; Vonn’s is a complete, grade three tear.

Lindsey Vonn isn’t letting a torn ACL slow her down no matter what.

On Thursday, February 5, Vonn shared a video of herself weightlifting as she prepares to ski in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games — a pretty impressive feat considering the gold medalist tore her ACL on January 30.

“I’m not giving up,” she captioned the video. “Working as hard as I can to make it happen! Thank you to my team and everyone for your incredible support. Keep believing.”


Lindsey Vonn has skied with a torn ACL before

If anyone knows what it’s like to ski with a torn ACL, it’s actually Vonn herself. Back in 2014 she raced on a fully torn ACL during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She has since replaced part of that knee with a block of titanium.

Despite her injury, Vonn, 41, has made it clear she fully intends to race on Sunday if she can. “I will try, as long as I have the ability to,” she told USA Today. “I will not go home regretting not trying. I will do everything in my power to be in that starting gate.”

Vonn also has the support of Dr. Kevin Stone, an orthopedic surgeon who previously worked with Team US Ski. He told the outlet that your average athlete might struggle, “But Lindsey’s not a normal human being. The question is, can a super well-trained athlete accommodate for the loss of stability she will have? You’ll know the answer as soon as she comes off the first jump.”

And though Vonn is wearing a brace to protect what remains of her knee, that can only do so much for her. Stone added, “Unless the brace were to be drilled into the bones, which, of course, we would not do.”

Vonn made it clear soon after her initial injury that she intends to stay in the Games. “It feels stable, it feels strong,” she told reporters, per the Associated Press. “I will do everything in my power to be in the starting gate.” Vonn is set to ski the downhill, the super-G and team events. She also noted that her participation in the later events is dependent on how shes performs in the downhill race.

US’ Lindsey Vonn reacts after crashing as she competes in the women’s downhill race part of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2025-2026, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP via Getty Images)

What Happens When an Athlete Tears Their ACL

Per the Cleveland Clinic, the ACL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee. The ligament is “like a strap that connects your bones and prevents your knee from bending or rotating too much” and can be torn by anything “that puts enough force on your knee to bend or twist it farther than its natural limit.”

There are three types of ACL injuries: grade one, grade two, and grade three. Vonn’s is a grade three: a complete tear that means her ACL is in two pieces.

The Clinic also notes that experts believe somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people in the United States tear their ACL each year.

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