U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s Tom Kelly tells NBC that Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn is resting comfortably back in the U.S. after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL and a fractured lateral tibial plateau, which were all suffered during an accident in Austria last Tuesday.
Dr. Bill Sterett, the head physician for the U.S. women’s Alpine Ski Team, said it was too early to make a specific prognosis on her recovery. But added that “modern surgical techniques combined with aggressive rehabilitation will help Lindsey make a full recovery. She will do everything in her power to return as quickly as possible to competitive skiing.”
The four time world cup champion crashed after a hard landing in the super-G world championship during “extreme” weather conditions that delayed the race for more than three hours. She was treated on the mountain for more then ten minutes, then airlifted to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Pictured here prior to Sunday’s surgery, Vonn’s agent said that the skier “is excited to be back in the US. She’s both humbled and motivated by the tremendous amount of support she’s been receiving from everyone.”
Vonn expects to recover in time for the World Cup season next fall, and for the winter Olympics next February in Sochi Russia, where she’ll look to defend her downhill gold medal from Vancouver. That wouldn’t be uncommon. Picabo Street returned from reconstructive surgery to win an Olympic gold medal in 1998 at Nagano, Japan.
