Winter Olympics 2026: Why doctors say Lindsey Vonn still has a strong chance despite ACL tear

As the Winter Olympics 2026 open in northern Italy on 6 February, attention in the UK and across the international sporting community has focused on an extraordinary medical and competitive dilemma: whether an athlete with a fully ruptured anterior cruciate ligament can realistically compete — and potentially contend — at Olympic level. The question centres on the women’s downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the fastest and most physically demanding events of the Games, reports The WP Times editorial team.

For Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medallist and former world champion, the answer offered by leading sports-medicine specialists is neither definitive nor reassuring. Doctors describe her chances as narrow but plausible, shaped by alpine skiing biomechanics, exceptional neuromuscular conditioning and a willingness to accept a level of risk that would be unacceptable for most athletes.

At 41, Vonn is preparing to race just days after confirming a complete ACL tear sustained in a crash at the World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on 30 January. For most competitors, such an injury would immediately end an Olympic campaign. In Vonn’s case, doctors say, the equation is different — not because the injury is less severe, but because her physical preparation, experience and circumstances place her in a rare medical category. The danger, they stress, remains significant.

The injury and the compressed timeline

Lindsey Vonn was injured on 30 January 2026 during the final Alpine Ski World Cup downhill before the Games in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. She crashed heavily after a jump and was airlifted to hospital for precautionary assessment, immediately casting doubt over her Olympic participation.

Speaking in Cortina several days later, Vonn confirmed a complete rupture of her anterior cruciate ligament, accompanied by bone bruising and meniscus damage. Crucially, she said her knee was not swollen — a detail repeatedly highlighted by doctors as a key factor in determining whether competing is even theoretically possible at this level.

“My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a brace I feel stable,” Vonn told reporters. “As long as there’s a chance, I will try.”

The absence of swelling is significant. Medical specialists describe swelling as a functional “circuit breaker” that can inhibit quadriceps activation, sharply reducing knee control — particularly dangerous in downhill skiing, where stability under sustained load is essential. The competitive timetable, however, leaves almost no margin for error. Under Olympic regulations, downhill racers must complete at least one official training run to be eligible to start. That requirement places Vonn’s first decisive test just days after the injury, compressing what would normally be a months-long recovery assessment into a matter of hours on snow.

Why an ACL rupture is normally career-defining

An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is regarded across elite sport as one of the most consequential injuries an athlete can sustain because the ligament plays a central role in rotational and translational stability of the knee. It acts as a primary mechanical restraint, preventing the tibia from shifting and rotating uncontrollably under load. In sports that involve cutting, pivoting, sudden braking or directional change, the ACL is fundamental not only to physical stability but also to an athlete’s confidence in the joint. When it fails, the knee can no longer be relied upon to respond predictably at speed — a problem that extends beyond pain to the athlete’s ability to commit fully to movement.

Without a functioning ACL, many athletes experience a combination of mechanical instability and neuromuscular disruption. Muscle activation around the knee — particularly in the quadriceps — can become delayed or inhibited, increasing the risk of the joint “giving way” under stress. That instability significantly raises the likelihood of secondary injuries, especially to the meniscus and articular cartilage. For this reason, the standard clinical pathway following a complete ACL rupture typically involves reconstructive surgery, followed by a prolonged and highly structured rehabilitation process. Return to full competition commonly takes nine to twelve months, and even then, not all athletes regain their previous level of performance or confidence. One orthopaedic surgeon described the practical reality in simple terms, comparing competition without an ACL to driving a car without knowing whether it will hold its line through a bend.

“It’s not trustworthy,” he said. “That’s why athletes usually don’t compete without fixing it.”

That lack of trust becomes even more critical when knee swelling is present. Swelling can act as a functional “circuit breaker”, inhibiting quadriceps activation and sharply reducing the joint’s ability to absorb force. In high-speed disciplines, where stability under sustained load is essential, this can make competition unsafe regardless of pain tolerance. Taken together, these factors explain why an ACL rupture is normally treated as a career-defining event — not simply because of the injury itself, but because of the long recovery, the elevated risk of further damage and the difficulty of returning to elite performance without surgical reconstruction.

Why alpine skiing alters the risk profile

Alpine skiing does not remove the need for knee stability — but it changes how that stability is generated and managed, particularly at elite level. Unlike field sports such as football or basketball, downhill skiing is characterised by highly predictable, linear movement patterns rather than sudden cuts or pivots. Forces are transmitted through rigid boots, bindings and skis, creating a closed kinetic chain that limits unexpected rotational demands on the knee. At speed, control is achieved less through rapid directional change and more through sustained edge pressure and balance.

Elite skiers therefore rely disproportionately on quadriceps strength, hip stabilisation and refined neuromuscular coordination to maintain edge grip, absorb terrain variation and remain centred over the skis. This muscular and technical control can, in some cases, partially compensate for ligament deficiency — provided the athlete has exceptional conditioning and proprioception. Catherine Logan, an orthopaedic surgeon who works with US Ski & Snowboard, explained why this distinction matters:

“Alpine skiing is very different from cutting and pivoting sports. The movement patterns are more predictable. That means there is less demand on the ACL during direction changes.”

In practical terms, this biomechanical profile creates a narrow window in which an ACL-deficient knee may still function under load, particularly in straight-line, speed-based disciplines such as downhill and Super-G. The absence of abrupt lateral cutting reduces the ligament’s usual role in stabilising rotational forces.

However, doctors stress that compensation is not protection. While alpine skiing may reduce some ACL-specific stresses, it increases others — especially prolonged load at high speed. Without the ligament, stress is redistributed to surrounding structures, notably the meniscus and cartilage, raising the risk of secondary injury. This is why specialists describe alpine skiing not as “safe” without an ACL, but as biomechanically different — a distinction that helps explain why a small number of exceptional athletes may compete, while the same injury would be prohibitive in most other sports.

The real danger: secondary damage

Doctors stress that competing in alpine skiing without a functioning ACL does not remove risk — it redistributes it. In the absence of the ligament, forces that would normally be shared by the ACL are transferred to other structures in the knee, most notably the meniscus and articular cartilage.

At racing speeds that can approach 130 km/h (80 mph) in women’s downhill, those structures are subjected to sustained load rather than brief impact. Over time — or in a single high-stress moment — that load can result in irreversible damage, with long-term consequences that surgery cannot fully reverse. Catherine Logan, an orthopaedic surgeon who works with US Ski & Snowboard, described the balance doctors must consider:

“There’s an increased risk of secondary injury to the meniscus or cartilage. That’s the trade-off.”

For most athletes, that trade-off would be unacceptable. In Lindsey Vonn’s case, it is being weighed against what may be her final Olympic opportunity, a factor that significantly alters the calculus — but not the underlying medical reality.

Why doctors still say she has “a strong chance”

Despite the risks, specialists repeatedly describe Vonn as a medical outlier — not because the injury is minor, but because her physical preparation is exceptional even by elite standards. Doctors point to a combination of factors rarely present in a single athlete:

• decades of elite-level conditioning
• unusually strong quadriceps and hip stabilisers
• advanced neuromuscular control and proprioception
• a custom-fitted knee brace
• continuous, intensive physiotherapy
• and, critically so far, the absence of swelling

Samuel Ward, a professor of orthopaedic surgery, highlighted the psychological dimension that often separates elite performers from the rest:

“There’s mind over matter here too. She’s as tenacious as they come. Ultimately, nobody knows the answer until she races.” Ward also emphasised the central medical warning sign: swelling.

Once swelling develops, it can inhibit quadriceps activation — a phenomenon clinicians describe as a functional “circuit breaker”. In downhill skiing, where the quadriceps act as primary shock absorbers, that inhibition can rapidly make the knee unstable under load. So far, Vonn has said that has not happened.

Context matters: age, experience and intent

At 41, Vonn is not weighing this decision against a long future career. She retired once already in 2019 and returned to competition in late 2024 following knee surgery, producing one of the most successful comeback seasons in modern alpine skiing. Before the crash in Switzerland, she was among the leading contenders in speed events, a fact that sharpens the stakes of the decision now facing her and her medical team. That context reshapes how risk is assessed.

“If she were 21, this would be a very different conversation,” Ward said. “But at this stage, the risk-reward calculation changes.”

Doctors stress that this does not make the decision safe — only understandable. It reflects a convergence of experience, circumstance and intent rarely seen at the Olympic level.

Key dates at Winter Olympics 2026

Where to watch in the UK

UK audiences will be able to follow the Winter Olympics 2026 live across both linear television and streaming platforms, with full coverage of alpine skiing events from Cortina d’Ampezzo.

• TNT Sports
  The primary UK broadcast partner, offering extensive live coverage across dedicated Olympic channels, alongside highlights and analysis.
• discovery+
  Provides comprehensive live and on-demand streaming of every Olympic event, including multiple camera feeds and replays. A paid subscription is required.
• Official schedules and start times
  Detailed daily timetables are published on the official Milano Cortina 2026 website, with alpine skiing competitions staged in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The women’s downhill, Lindsey Vonn’s main target event, is scheduled for Sunday, 8 February, with live coverage available across UK platforms.2026.

Why this story defines the Games

Vonn’s decision does not rewrite medical guidance. Doctors are explicit on that point: this is not advice, and it is not a pathway others should follow. What it does illustrate is the outer edge of what can be attempted when elite sport, advanced medical management and individual resolve intersect. The case exposes the limits of general rules in a domain where physiology, experience and context can outweigh standard timelines — but never eliminate risk.

“She’s a different level of ACL patient,” one surgeon said. “Every case has to be individualised.”

That distinction is central. The same injury that would end an Olympic campaign for almost any other athlete has, in this instance, opened a narrow and uncertain window — not because the damage is lesser, but because the athlete is exceptional and the circumstances singular. Whether Lindsey Vonn reaches the finish line or not, her attempt has already become one of the defining narratives of the Winter Olympics 2026. It captures the tension at the heart of elite competition: between ambition and biology, courage and caution, possibility and prudence. At the very highest level of sport, that line is rarely clear — and it is being tested in real time on the Olympic stage.

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