Lindsey Vonn says she feels great. She also says the hardest part of her comeback is still ahead.
Speaking at the U.S. Open, the 41-year-old skiing legend confirmed she is still waiting on ACL reconstruction after the crash that ended her Olympic downhill 13 seconds into the run. The February wreck in Cortina left her with a complex left tibia fracture that nearly cost her the leg and required multiple surgeries to stabilize. The torn ACL from a World Cup crash nine days earlier has not been repaired.
“I still have another surgery, so I’m trying to get as strong as possible,” Vonn told TNT Sports. “And once I get my ACL, then I’ll have another long road ahead of me. But for now, I feel great, and I’m very thankful for that.”
She is targeting November for the ACL operation, though she said it could slip into winter. After that, she expects about nine more months before she is fully recovered. That timeline would put her at full strength sometime next summer or fall. She has repeatedly said she is not ready to decide whether she will race again. Rehab first. The rest later.
The latest comments come as Vonn has been visibly rebuilding. She has returned to the gym, posted squat and lifting sessions, gotten back on a road bike, and even hit tennis balls while appearing at events. A mid-September training video showed her working through weights and cardio with the scar from the tibia surgeries still visible down her left leg. Her message was simple: she worked hard to get here and she is not skipping the work now.
The picture she is painting is consistent. Progress is real. Walking, training, and public life are back. The next operation is not optional if she wants a complete knee. Until that surgery happens and the long rehab after it is done, she is not looking past the next step.
For now, Vonn’s update is both encouraging and unfinished: she is stronger, she is grateful, and she still has a long road in front of her.
