Lindsey Vonn is back in the gym two days after revealing she completely tore her ACL.
“I’m not giving up 💪🏻 working as hard as I can to make it happen!” the skier, 41, captioned a Thursday, February 5, Instagram Reel that showed her in the gym. “Thank you to my team and everyone for your incredible support. Keep believing 🙏🏻❤️.”
In the video, Vonn can be seen performing a series of exercises including squats, jumps and lunges. The Olympian also lifted a large barbell while squatting.
On Friday, January 30, Vonn was airlifted off the course following a crash during her World Cup Race in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Days after the incident, Vonn took to social media to give an update on her injury.
“Well … I completely tore my ACL last Friday,” she shared via Instagram on Tuesday, February 3. “I also sustained a bone bruise (which is a common injury when you tear your ACL), plus meniscal tears but it’s unclear how much of that was there previously and what was new from the crash.”
Vonn continued, “This was obviously incredibly hard news to receive one week before the Olympics. I really appreciate everyone giving me time and space to process what happened and find a way forward.”
While Vonn is currently injured, she still intends on participating in the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, which kick off on Friday, February 6. (Vonn’s first appearance is scheduled for Sunday, February 8.)
“After extensive consultations with doctors, intense therapy, physical tests as well as skiing today, I have determined I am capable of competing in the Olympic Downhill on Sunday,” she said on Tuesday. “Of course I will still need to do one training run, as is required to race on Sunday, but… I am confident in my body’s ability to perform. Despite my injuries my knee is stable, I do not have swelling and my muscles are firing and reacting as they should.”
Vonn added that she “will obviously be continuing to evaluate” her condition with her medical team. However, she has “every intention of competing on Sunday.”
“I know what my chances in these Olympics were before this crash, and even though my chances aren’t the same now, there is still a chance,” Vonn continued. “And as long as I have a chance, I will not lose hope. I will not give up! It’s not over yet!”
This is Vonn’s first return to the sport since she retired in 2019. In the first part of her career, Vonn made multiple appearances at the Olympics and took home a gold medal in 2012 as well as bronze medals in 2018. In November 2024, Vonn announced that she was returning to the slopes after getting knee replacement surgery.
“I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself because I have quite a few hoops to jump through,” Vonn said in an interview with The New York Times. “Obviously, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t hope to be racing. I have aspirations. I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know. But I’m not going to put myself in a position to fail. My goal is to enjoy this, and hopefully that road takes me to World Cup races. I wouldn’t be back on the U.S. ski team if I didn’t have intentions.”
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