Lindsey Vonn Tells Fans ‘Don’t Feel Sad’ for Her in Post-Surgery Update, Recalls Where She Was Mentally at Time of Crash

Lindsey Vonn is sharing a message of hope after undergoing her fourth surgery, more than a week after her crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

In an Instagram update on Saturday, Feb. 14, the 41-year-old skier said she had completed another procedure following a complex tibia fracture suffered in the Feb. 8 women’s downhill event. She added that doctors have cleared her to travel again.

“Surgery went well today! Thankfully I will be able to finally go back to the US 🇺🇸! Once I’m back I will give you more updates and info about my injury…,” she wrote alongside a video of herself skiing downhill.

The clip, set to Cody Johnson’s “The Fall,” shows Vonn racing down a snowy mountain. In the comments, she described it as her final run before the Olympic race and said she was grateful to have the memory.

Vonn also addressed messages from fans who said the accident made them feel sad. She asked people not to respond with pity.

“I have been reading a lot of messages and comments saying that what has happened to me makes them sad. Please, don’t be sad,” she said. “Empathy, love and support I welcome with an open heart, but please not sadness or sympathy. I hope instead it gives you strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and that is what I will continue to do. Always.”

She emphasized that she understood the risks of the sport and accepted them when she stepped into the starting gate.

“I did not stand in the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences,” she said, adding that she chose to take a risk, as every skier does, even though “the mountain always holds the cards.”

Vonn said she would rather risk crashing than hold back and wonder what might have been.

“I was willing to risk and push and sacrifice for something I knew I was absolutely capable of doing,” she explained. “I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret. I never want to cross finish line and say, ‘what if?’”

She added that she felt physically strong and mentally sharp that day, but acknowledged that being prepared doesn’t guarantee an outcome.

“Nothing in life is guaranteed. That’s the gamble of chasing your dreams, you might fall but if you don’t try you’ll never know,” she said, adding that the experience was worth it despite the fall.

Recovering at Ca’ Foncello hospital in Treviso, Italy, Vonn concluded her post by saying she has no regrets and that her love for skiing remains. She also suggested she plans to return to the top of the mountain again.

Vonn crashed about 13 seconds into her downhill run after getting caught on a marker, flipping through the air multiple times before landing in the snow. She was airlifted from the course roughly 15 minutes later.

In a Feb. 9 Instagram post, Vonn said she was only inches off her intended line, which triggered the fall. She added that it was unrelated to her recent ACL injury, sustained a week before the Olympics, and said her latest injury would require multiple surgeries.

Her return to the Olympics marked her first appearance at the Games since 2018 and her fifth overall. She won her first Olympic gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games and also took bronze in the Super-G. Her most recent Olympic medal came in 2018, when she finished third in the downhill.