In a raw, emotional Instagram update that’s rocking the sports world, skiing icon Lindsey Vonn has revealed the terrifying full story behind her devastating crash at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics—and how one quick-thinking doctor literally saved her leg from amputation.
The 41-year-old legend, fresh off an improbable comeback with a partial knee replacement, tore her ACL just days before the Games in a World Cup crash at Crans-Montana. Undeterred, she powered through qualifiers on February 6 (sans ACL!) to lock in her spot for the women’s downhill.
But tragedy struck 13 seconds into her Olympic run on February 8 at Cortina’s Tofane slope: Vonn’s right arm clipped a gate mid-air, twisting her body and slamming her into the snow. Screams echoed across the livestream as she was airlifted off the mountain.
What followed was a medical nightmare: a complex tibia fracture, fibular head fracture, tibial plateau fracture (involving knee structures), a broken right ankle, and the life-threatening compartment syndrome—where swelling and bleeding built deadly pressure inside her leg’s muscle compartments, crushing muscles, nerves, and tendons while cutting off blood flow.
Vonn underwent multiple surgeries in Italy, including a grueling six-hour procedure on February 12 (or around then) that involved external fixation, plates, and screws to stabilize the shattered bones. But the real hero moment came when renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tom Hackett—a Team USA rockstar who was only on-site because of Vonn’s pre-Olympic ACL tear—stepped in for an emergency fasciotomy.
“He cut open both sides of my leg, kind of filleted it open, so to speak, (to) let it breathe… and he saved my leg from being amputated,” Vonn explained in her video from the hospital. “Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved me.”
Without him, the outcome could have been catastrophic. After a blood transfusion and nearly two weeks bedridden in an Italian hospital, Vonn was finally discharged, moved to a hotel, and is now back in the U.S. focusing on rehab. She’s in a wheelchair (neither leg weight-bearing yet), facing a year-long bone healing process before even considering ACL repair or metal removal surgery.
Despite the pain and setbacks, Vonn remains unbreakable: “I chose to take a risk… I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret. I never want to cross the finish line and say, ‘what if?'”
From near-amputation to hospital release, this is pure resilience. Vonn’s gratitude to Dr. Hackett is going viral—proving that behind every legend is sometimes a lifesaving hero in scrubs.
