The next time it counts for Lindsey Vonn.
Vonn completed her second tuneup Saturday in Italy ahead of the 2026 Olympic Games despite rupturing her left ACL last week, and next up is the women’s downhill event Sunday.
Her coach, Asked Lund Svindal, revealed Saturday after she finished third in a trial run that there are still two major hurdles for the 41-year-old to clear in this stunning attempt to win gold after such a major injury.
The first involves the intensity that will be requires to claim gold, with Vonn finishing Saturday’s run 0.37 seconds behind winning teammate Breezy Johnson.
“She knows that she’ll have to push harder tomorrow because the rest of the girls will and it’s the Olympic downhill — you’re not going to get away with a medal there unless you push hard,” Svindal told the Associated Press on Saturday. “I think she’s ready for that.”
The second centers on just how that knee will cooperate during jumps, a concern for many who have wondered just how Vonn can compete so soon after an ACL tear.
The AP reported that Vonn has favored her leg after landing following jumps during these two training sessions, which affects her balance.
Any slight disturbance can be the difference between winning a medal or not.
“Try to have less of that tomorrow if we can,” Svindal said, per the AP. “It’s the landings that hurt the most.”
Vonn told the AP “all good” after Saturday’s run, and now she will attempt to overcome all the odds in her Olympics return after unretiring.
Vonn retired in 2019 after battling injuries before deciding in 2024 she would give it another go for the 2026 Olympics and attempt to win her second gold.
Those dreams seemed dashed when she injured her left knee last week during preparations for the Olympic Games, with the ACL tear ultimately being revealed.
Vonn is somehow not letting that stop here, wearing a large brace on her left knee and participating in the two trial runs Friday and Saturday before Sunday’s event.
Svindal said that the brace negatively affects Vonn’s aerodynamics, but they are not harping on it.
“We’re not focusing on that because if she starts to ask to take the brace away I think there’s a couple of doctors that would have something to say about that,” he told the AP.
“Please don’t ask her that question.”
