Lindsey Vonn Crashes in Last Downhill Tune-Up, Airlifted One Week Before Olympics [WATCH]

U.S. skiing star Lindsey Vonn crashed during her final World Cup downhill race on Friday and was airlifted from the course for medical evaluation, casting uncertainty over her Olympic preparations just one week before the Milan Cortina Games, as reported by ESPN.

Vonn, 41, lost control after landing a jump during the women’s downhill in Crans-Montana, becoming the third skier to crash in a race that was ultimately canceled due to dangerous conditions.

She slid into the safety nets on the upper portion of the course after attempting to regain balance, lifting her left arm and pole while trying to slow herself before being spun around.

Here is the replay of Lindsey Vonn’s crash:#FISAlpine | #WorldCupCransMontana pic.twitter.com/1xhAuQanP0

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Medical personnel attended to Vonn on the slope for approximately five minutes. She was able to stand and ski slowly to the finish area, stopping several times along the way while clutching her left knee and using her poles for support.

She then limped into a medical tent before being airlifted by helicopter for further evaluation, suspended from a hoist cable with two attendants.

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The race was held in low visibility with snowfall, and officials decided to cancel it following Vonn’s crash. Two other racers had gone down earlier in the event — Nina Ortlieb of Austria and Marte Monsen of Norway.

Ortlieb crashed in the same section as Vonn, while Monsen hit the safety nets near the finish and was taken away by sled.

After those incidents, the race was delayed but briefly resumed, with Jacqueline Wiles of the United States and Corinne Suter of Switzerland completing their runs before Vonn’s crash ended the competition.

Wiles, who was leading at the time the race was stopped, shared an emotional moment with Vonn before she entered the medical tent. Vonn appeared visibly distressed, closing her eyes during a prolonged embrace with her teammate.

“I know she hurt her knee. I talked to her,” International Ski and Snowboard Federation CEO Urs Lehmann said in the finish area.

“I don’t know if it’s really heavy and [if] she won’t miss the Olympics. Let’s wait for what the doctors are saying.”

The crash occurred exactly one week before the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Vonn’s first scheduled Olympic event is the women’s downhill on Feb. 8.

She was also planning to compete in the super-G and the newly introduced team combined event.

Vonn had been slated to race again in Crans-Montana on Saturday in a super-G, which would have been her final competitive start before the Games.

The incident follows what had been a remarkable comeback season for Vonn. After nearly six years away from competitive ski racing, she returned last season at age 40.

Skiing with a partial titanium implant in her right knee, Vonn entered Friday’s race as the World Cup downhill leader this season, with two victories and three additional podium finishes in five downhill starts.

Including super-G races, she had finished on the podium in seven of eight World Cup races this season, with her worst result being fourth.

Women’s alpine skiing events at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a venue where Vonn holds the record with 12 World Cup victories.

Race conditions were a recurring concern throughout Friday’s event. Romane Miradoli of France, one of the few skiers to complete a run early, cited poor visibility.

“You can’t see,” Miradoli said. “And it’s bumpy everywhere.” Asked whether the course was dangerous, she added, “We just couldn’t see well.”

Vonn took to Instagram to comment on the situation:

The race also took place under somber circumstances in Crans-Montana.

A minute of silence was observed before the competition in remembrance of the victims of a devastating bar fire that occurred in the town in the early hours of New Year’s Day, killing 40 people and injuring more than 100.

The finish area was stripped of its usual sponsor signage and replaced with black-and-white banners bearing messages of solidarity in multiple languages.

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