Mon, February 09, 2026
Vonn incident raises questions surrounding athlete autonomy
Following 41-year-old American athlete Lindsey Vonn’s horrific crash during the women’s downhill event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics where she broke her leg, questions have arisen surrounding athlete autonomy as Vonn decided to compete after suffering another injury just over a week prior, as reported by Reuters.
Alpine skier, Vonn, had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee during a World Cup event and had to be airlifted from the course little more than a week before the crash at the Olympics. The day before the crash, she set the third-fastest training time, and she wore a brace during the actual event, but suffered a horrific crash where she was also airlifted to hospital. She has now had surgery on a broken leg.
Before the crash, Vonn insisted: “We've been doing extensive therapy and consulting with doctors, been in the gym and today I went skiing. And considering how my knee feels, it feels stable, I feel strong.”
She also told The Charlotte Observer: “My life does not revolve around ski racing. I am a woman that loves to ski. 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. And respectfully, if you don't know the story, it might be best not to make assumptions.”
Jean-Pierre Paclet, former French national football and ski doctor, highlighted concerns surrounding allowing athletes to continue competing after suffering injuries due to the possibility of long-term damage: “Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are extremely common, both among elite athletes and the general public…
You can tear it very easily. You don't need an ACL in every skiing movement, which is why surgery is performed, but the real question concerns the athlete's long-term future…
Many athletes who continue for years do not have healthy joints when they are older. Does a doctor have the right to allow a career to continue if it risks severe degenerative lesions? That is a matter of sporting ethics.”
Paclet has called for a clear return-to-play protocol for such athletes. World Rugby, for example, has the Graduated Return to Play (GRTP) protocol for concussed players where they must pass 5 stages. From 2022, as part of evolving GRTP practices, concussion stand-down periods had to include a minimum of 12 days at elite level.
Peter Gerdol, Race Director at FIS, stated: “FIS [International Ski and Snowboard Federation] is made up of national ski associations, and those associations are responsible for taking care of their own athletes…
At the moment it remains the responsibility of each national ski association, or the National Olympic Committee, to decide whether an athlete is healthy enough to compete.”
26-year-old Norwegian alpine skier, Marte Monsen, who suffered a knee injury in the same World Cup was prevented from competing at the Games by the Norwegian federation, for example.
Athletes are divided on the situation. Norwegian alpine skier, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, expressed to Reuters: “Everyone is evaluated by a doctor, but in the end it’s up to you. Nobody can tell you what to do - you ski for yourself. People can give you the facts, and then you decide what to do with them.”
French Olympic Biathlete, Lou Jeanmonnot-Laurent, voiced: “In the end there's nothing to be proud of either, because health must come before sport. As athletes, we shouldn't send younger people the message that we can push through pain at the expense of our health.”
Furthermore, Angela Priestly of Women’s Agenda, expressed: “There is no evidence yet that the crash was caused by an injury she sustained in her left leg nine days ago…
Let’s leave the judgment of Vonn’s assessment of her own body, age, and the amount of ‘risk’ and ‘recklessness’ she can handle to Vonn herself.”
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