In a raw and deeply moving Instagram video posted earlier this week, Olympic skiing icon Lindsey Vonn delivered an emotional tribute to the medical team that she says literally saved her left leg from amputation following her catastrophic crash at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 41-year-old legend, who had returned from retirement to chase one last Olympic run, suffered a devastating high-speed fall just 13 seconds into her women’s downhill race on February 8. Already competing on a freshly torn ACL, Vonn clipped a gate and tumbled violently, resulting in a complex fracture of her left tibia, fibula head, and tibial plateau, along with a broken right ankle. The impact triggered compartment syndrome—a dangerous buildup of pressure that threatened to kill muscle, nerve, and tissue in her leg.
In her candid update from a hotel room after finally being discharged from the hospital, Vonn singled out Dr. Tom Hackett, the orthopedic surgeon for Team USA and her personal physician, for his life-saving intervention. “Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg,” she said tearfully. “He saved my leg from being amputated.” She described how Hackett performed an emergency fasciotomy—a six-hour procedure where he “filleted” open both sides of her leg to relieve crushing pressure and restore blood flow. “He kind of cut it open so it could breathe, and he saved me,” Vonn explained.
Vonn emphasized the serendipity: Hackett was on-site in Cortina only because of her pre-Olympic ACL tear. “If I hadn’t torn my ACL… he wouldn’t have been there; he wouldn’t have been able to save my leg,” she said, expressing profound gratitude. She also thanked the Italian medical team in Treviso who handled her initial care and multiple follow-up surgeries to reconstruct her shattered leg with plates, screws, and rods.
Now wheelchair-bound and facing a grueling rehabilitation ahead—including more procedures and intensive therapy—Vonn described the injury as “by far the most extreme, painful and challenging I’ve faced in my life, times 100.” Yet her tone remained defiant and hopeful. “It’s going to be a long road,” she acknowledged, “but I always fight and we keep going.”
The three-time Olympic medalist and former World Cup champion stressed she has “no regrets” about her comeback or pushing through the knee injury to compete. Fans worldwide have rallied around her resilience, with messages of support pouring in—including from soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who praised her champion spirit.
Vonn’s tribute highlights not just her unbreakable will, but the critical role of elite medical care in high-stakes sports. As she begins the long journey toward recovery—and possibly a future return to the slopes—her words serve as a powerful reminder of the thin line between triumph and tragedy in elite athletics.
