Lindsey Vonn has showcased her dedication to recovering from her catastrophic leg injury on the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Just six weeks after her dramatic crash on the Milan and Cortina games, Vonn, 41, posted an Instagram video on Saturday, March 21, to disclose that she is already doing full sets on a pull up bar on the gym.
“First set of pull ups post surgery… slowly getting there,” Vonn captioned the Instagram post.
Vonn’s followers hailed her resilience, including Chelsea Handler replying, “INSPIRING, INCREDIBLE, BEAST MODE.”
The champion skier went into the Olympics in Italy having already torn her ACL during a World Cup race in Switzerland on January 30. Vonn defied the percentages by pushing through her pain on the Olympic trials to compete in Milan and Cortina.
Disaster struck only 13 seconds into Vonn’s women’s downhill event on February 8 when she crashed and needed to be airlifted to a hospital to undergo an emergency orthopedic operation to stabilize a posh tibia fracture.
Vonn underwent additional procedures in each Italy and once she returned home to the U.S., revealing that she nearly had her leg amputated resulting from the severe trauma brought on by her crash.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg,” Vonn explained in a social media post on the time. “He saved my leg from being amputated. He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he cut open each side of my leg and type of filleted it open so to talk, let it breathe, and he saved me.”
Once Vonn began physical therapy in early March, she admitted her disappointment about falling off the highest of downhill skiing’s world rankings.
“Well… I’ve had the red leader bib from the primary race of the season until now, but in all likelihood tomorrow might be my last day as #1,” Vonn wrote via Instagram on March 6. “At first of the season nobody would have ever believed I can be even near this position. And I bet people would have laughed if it was even suggested. But winning the title was my goal… and I got here painfully near achieving it.”
Vonn mentioned that she doesn’t like bragging about her achievements but felt it was necessary to attract attention to her success after nearly six years in retirement.
“I used to be on the rostrum of each downhill race, including 2 wins,” she identified. “I clawed my way back to #1 on this planet after being retired for six years with a partial knee alternative and that alone was an incredible achievement I won’t ever forget. Though in just a few days nobody will keep in mind that I almost won the season title, I’ll remember. I didn’t need to win the title to prove anything to anyone. I did it because I knew I could. I just wish I had a likelihood to fight until the tip to try to get it.”
Amid speculation that she would walk away from the game once more, Vonn tweeted on March 14, “Who said I used to be retiring?”
A fan replied that “the ego is so strong on this one” before encouraging her to place her “feet up and be done.”
“Think you’re mistaking ego for joy,” Vonn corrected them. “I’ve said it my whole life; I like skiing. I’ll put my feet up once I’m good and prepared, thanks.”