American Lindsey Vonn crashed during an alpine ski women’s downhill race on Sunday.The Associated Press
Lindsey Vonn sustained a complex tibia fracture that is stable but will require multiple surgeries. The U.S alpine ski racer revealed the details of her injury in her first statement since crashing out of the Winter Olympics.
Vonn broke her silence in an Instagram post on Monday, saying she has “no regrets” about competing in Sunday’s women’s downhill event. She’d been trying to make an Olympic comeback at age 41 when she crashed just 13.4 seconds into her run and was airlifted off the mountain.
She said the crash was unrelated to a torn ACL she had suffered while competing on Jan. 30.
“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” read the post. “My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”
She said despite the intense physical pain it caused, she had no regrets and that life is about taking risks.
“Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget,” she continued. “Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.”