Lindsey Vonn shares emotional update after Winter Olympics crash and father’s wish

Skiing star Lindsey Vonn has posted an emotional Instagram message following her horrific Winter Olympics crash

Skiing star Lindsey Vonn has turned to social media to deliver a heartbreaking update following her devastating crash at the Winter Olympics.

The American competitor endured a terrible fall during the Women’s downhill Alpine skiing event in the opening moments of her run on Sunday, before requiring an air ambulance to hospital. She was heard screaming in agony and received treatment from numerous medics, whilst her personal physician accompanied her to hospital. The accident occurred as she tried to compete despite having torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) less than two weeks previously.

News broke on Monday that the athlete had undergone a second operation on a broken leg and had been transferred to intensive care for privacy, given worldwide concern about her condition.

Writing on Instagram, Vonn posted an image of her crash and provided a comprehensive update: “Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would.

“It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.”

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“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly. While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets.

“Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.

“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try.

“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped. I hope if you take away anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly. Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me.”

This heartfelt message comes shortly after Vonn’s father, Alan Kildow, expressed his wish for his daughter to retire from skiing permanently.

“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Kildow told The Associated Press. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”