Three days after Lindsey Vonn’s dramatic high-speed crash ended her Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics campaign, the anesthesiologist who first reached her on the slope has shared new details about the frantic response that followed.
Dr. Thomas Spallinger, a young anesthesiologist based in Arzignano, Italy, and working his first Olympic Games, described racing to Vonn’s aid alongside a Carabinieri officer on skis immediately after the incident during Sunday’s women’s downhill event on the Tofane course.
“We assessed her and, given the nature of her injury, we decided to arrange for her to be transferred to the hospital by rescue helicopter,” Spallinger told Spanish newspaper El Mundo. “She was in a lot of pain at the time, so I rushed to begin treatment on site and stabilized her.”
He added that Vonn’s physical therapist also stepped in to help calm the 41-year-old skier as she endured intense discomfort. “Her physical therapist intervened and helped us calm her until the helicopter arrived,” Spallinger said. “Everything went smoothly, thanks to the excellent coordination and preparation of the medical staff, rescuers, and the organization.”
Vonn crashed violently just seconds into her run—approximately 13 seconds in—when her right arm hooked a gate, twisting her body and sending her tumbling down the slope. She sustained a complex displaced tibia fracture in her left leg, the same limb that had suffered a complete ACL rupture in training days earlier. Audio from the scene captured her cries of pain as medical teams arrived, and she was quickly placed on a stability board before being airlifted to a nearby hospital for initial stabilization.
In her first post-crash Instagram message the following day, Vonn explained the cause: “I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me…” She emphasized having “no regrets” about competing, calling the risk inherent to the sport and life itself: “We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall.”
The injury required multiple surgeries, with Vonn announcing on February 11 that her third procedure was successful. From her hospital bed at Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso, she shared photos—including one showing an external fixator stabilizing her leg—and reflected: “Success today has a completely different meaning than it did a few days ago. I’m making progress and while it is slow, I know I’ll be ok.”
Vonn expressed gratitude to her medical team, loved ones, and the global support network, while cheering on her Team USA teammates still competing. Her father, Alan Kildow, told the Associated Press he believes this marks the end of her racing career, stating, “She’s 41 years old and this is the end… There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”
A three-time Olympic medalist (one gold, two bronzes) and one of alpine skiing’s most decorated athletes, Vonn has built a legacy of resilience through repeated injuries, including a groundbreaking partial knee replacement in 2024 that enabled her comeback. As she begins a challenging rehabilitation, the swift, coordinated response on the mountain—highlighted by Spallinger—underscores the high-stakes preparations that protect elite athletes in one of the world’s most dangerous sports.
