Lindsey Vonn’s ironclad determination to race the women’s downhill at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics just got major endorsements from two heavy hitters: her head coach Chris Knight and NFL star wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
The 41-year-old skiing legend, fresh off a terrifying crash in Switzerland last Friday that left her with a completely ruptured ACL, bone bruising, and meniscal damage in her left knee, remains adamant she’ll compete Sunday—despite the injury typically requiring surgery and sidelining athletes for months.
Knight, speaking to The Associated Press on Wednesday, left no room for skepticism: “I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” he said. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
Vonn echoed that optimism after days of aggressive rehab, on-snow testing, and medical check-ins. She reports daily improvements—no swelling, strong stability with a brace—and surgery? “It’s not really on my radar screen right now. The Olympics are the only thing that I’m thinking about,” she told reporters. “Every day my knee’s gotten better… we’re doing everything to make sure I am making smart and safe decisions.”
Adding a surprising cross-sport vote of confidence is New England Patriots wideout Stefon Diggs, who knows the ACL struggle firsthand—his 2024 season with the Houston Texans ended early due to the same injury. “Prayers to her. I hope the surgery does go well when she does have it,” Diggs said Wednesday. “Anybody who has torn an ACL, it’s kind of a weird injury. You can run after about two weeks when the swelling goes down… As long as she doesn’t have to (decelerate), she should be fine.”
Diggs has his own massive Sunday ahead: he and the Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California—meaning two American icons will chase glory on the same day, one on snow, one on turf.
Vonn needs to complete at least one official training run to qualify for the downhill, but she’s no stranger to the Cortina mountain—she’s racked up 12 of her 84 World Cup victories there, the most of any skier. With two downhill wins this winter and the World Cup lead in the discipline, she entered these Games as a gold-medal favorite.
This comeback follows her 2019 retirement due to injuries (including a partial right knee replacement), a late-2024 return, and now this defiant push. She’s already Olympic-proven: gold in downhill and bronze in super-G at Vancouver 2010, plus downhill bronze at PyeongChang 2018.
Experts warn of the risks—downhill demands explosive power at 80+ mph, and a torn ACL heightens chances of further damage—but Vonn’s elite fitness, brace support, and history of racing through knee chaos (like her 2019 Worlds bronze with severe damage) fuel the belief.
With Knight’s “no doubt” stamp and Diggs’ insider empathy, Vonn’s story is turning into one of the most viral underdog tales of these Olympics. Sunday’s start gate awaits—what could be her final, most legendary run.
