MN Olympian Lindsey Vonn Airlifted to Hospital After Scary Crash

Lindsey Vonn - Womens Downhill
Credit: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters via Imagn Images

The 2026 Winter Olympics are exactly one week away. On February 6, the best athletes across the world that most of us have never heard of will be in Milan, Italy by this time next week, ready to compete for their country in the most iconic sporting event of known world history.

When she woke up Friday morning, legendary downhill skier — Burnsville, MN’s own — Lindsey Vonn thought she would be part of the U.S. team for her FIFTH Olympic games (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018).

But first, she had to finish her final World Cup competition, before her focus fully turned to Milan. So Lindsey Vonn — as she has thousands of times before — took to the slopes in Crans-Montana (Switzerland) Friday.

Lindsey Vonn crashes before Olympics; Airlifted out Swiss mountains

Unfortunately, conditions in Valais today were poor, and Vonn did not make it down the mountain successfully. Video of the fall is just starting to hit the internet.

You can see Lindsey hit a jump awkwardly before falling off her skies and hard into a safety screen that probably kept her from tumbled down the mountainside. Thankfully, she was able to ski slowly down to safety, but not without pain.

We do not know how hurt Vonn was by her accident, or whether her injuries will keep her from competing in the Olympics. As soon as there is an update to her health, we will post it in this article.

Related: Lindsey Vonn Has Another Record in Her Sights

Lindsey was eventually airlifted out of the Mountains and to a hospital, where she will have her injuries assessed. She wasn’t the first participant to crash today, at the World Cup event, which was canceled after her devastating tumble.

In her four Olympic appearances, Lindsey Vonn has collected three medals (one gold – 2010). She’s won 4 World Cup titles and 45 total World Cup gold medals. Whether she races next month or not, Vonn is the greatest female downhill skier of all time.

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