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Lindsey Vonn slammed "ageism" critiques for skiing with a torn ACL, just one day before she crashed during the women's downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 8
"This ageism stuff is getting really old," the Olympian, 41, said, replying to an opinion piece penned by a sports medicine educator
Vonn "completely" ruptured her ACL at a World Cup race in Switzerland on Feb. 3, but completed her first downhill training run days later, ahead of the Milan Cortina Games
Lindsey Vonncalled out "ageism" critiques amid her run to become the oldest Alpine skier in Olympic history at the age of 41, one day before she crashed during the women's downhill event at the2026 Winter Olympics.
On Feb. 3, the skier announced she"completely" ruptured her ACLat a World Cup race in Switzerland, though she said she was still determined to compete in the Milan Cortina Games.
Less than a week later, Vonn completed her first downhill training run, and soon after, Greg Graber, a sports medicine educator,published an opinion pieceforUSA Todayabout Vonn's injury, titled, "Lindsey Vonn is skiing with a torn ACL. The pain may be the point."
In the article, Graber wrote, "It is astonishing enough that the 41-year-old is still performing on this elite level, much less with a serious injury that would end many alpine skiing careers," and hours later, Vonn replied to asince-deleted X postabout the story, calling out the "ageism" in the piece.
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"I'm sorry Greg but this is a very odd opinion piece," Vonn wrote. "The pain and suffering is the point? I'm searching for meaning? Why am I taking risk 'at my age?' This ageism stuff is getting really old."
"My life does not revolve around ski racing. I am a woman that loves to ski," she continued. "I don't have an identity issue, I know exactly who I am. I was retired for 6 years and I have an amazing life. I don't need to ski, but I love to ski. I came all this way for one final Olympics and I'm going to go and do my best, ACL or no. It's as simple as that."
The following day, Vonn went on to make her comeback during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
But, just as she passed a marker 13 seconds into her run in the women's downhill event, shecrashed into the snow and spun in the air several timesbefore finally landing.
"Oh my god," the athlete yelled as a medical team rushed to her side. After being attended to for approximately 15 minutes, the five-time Olympian was put on a stability board and airlifted by helicopter out of the mountains to a hospital in Innsbruck.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
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While there has not yet been an update surrounding the severity of Vonn's injury, Breezy Johnson, who went on towin the Olympic women's downhill gold medal, shared a few words of support for her teammate.
"I hope it's not as bad as it looked," she said, perNBC News.
Johnson, whomissed the 2022 Olympics herself after crashing on the same courseand injuring her knee, added, "I know how difficult it is to ski this course and how sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and it hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse."
Vonn previously responded to criticism about her age,telling PEOPLE, "I want to show people that it's not a disadvantage to be old."
"I love challenging people's perspectives, and this is an amazing opportunity to do that. Also, my age is an advantage here," she continued. "I've had a lot of experience as a veteran athlete. I've skied these tracks four times more than anyone else. Plus, I like breaking records. So if I'm the oldest woman? So be it."
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come topeople.comto check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
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