Lindsey Vonn had a tough outing, to say the least, at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 41-year-old suffered a horrifying crash during the women’s downhill final on February 8, and her campaign concluded on a dismal note. The crash was so brutal that she almost had her left leg amputated and had to undergo a total of six surgeries before eventually being discharged from the hospital. However, Vonn’s fate strikes again, this time, for another American great.
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Turns out that ballet dancer Misty Copeland had a hip replacement surgery just weeks after retiring from the American Ballet Theatre last October. She posted on Instagram with a major update on her health: “A few months ago, I stepped off the stage after my final bow with @abtofficial, closing one chapter and unknowingly preparing for the next. Not too long after that, I had hip replacement surgery,” a part of the post read.
Lindsey Vonn, who had previously worked with Copeland for Under Armour endorsement campaigns, shared a positive message under the post. “It’s going to feel amazing,” she wrote.
Copeland’s Instagram post lays bare her recovery journey. It features video of her limping across a room with a walker, a hospital-bed photo of her IV, her surgeon explaining a hip CT scan, and a picture of the bandage over her incision.
In November 2025, Misty told NPR she’d suffered a “severe” hip injury while preparing for her final performance, enduring intense pain and “barely walking.” Doctors found bone spurs, a labral tear, and significant cartilage loss in her left hip. She performed anyway, against their advice. Now, she appears deep into healing, taking it all one step at a time.
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“Since then, I’ve been focused on healing — physically, mentally, and patiently. These were my first few days: learning to walk again, resting, and letting my body do the work. Recovery isn’t glamorous, but every small step matters,” Copeland further wrote.
Just like her, Lindsey Vonn is also recovering from the gruesome injuries that she suffered at the Olympics. The accident occurred at the Olympia delle Tofane downhill course, and it stunned the crowd into silence. The skier had come into the Olympics with a ruptured ACL, and the gruesome crash only made matters worse for her. She was airlifted by helicopter and taken to a hospital nearby.
Details behind Lindsey Vonn’s severe injuries
The crash had resulted in multiple fractures to her left leg and a fracture in her right ankle as well. However, it was the compartment syndrome that made her condition worse and required a six-hour surgery known as fasciotomy to save the issue. Fortunately for her, Dr. Tom Hackett performed a successful operation and saved her leg from being amputated. Vonn herself expressed her gratitude towards the doctor.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated. If I hadn’t torn my ACL – which I would have torn anyways with this crash – if I hadn’t had done that, Tom wouldn’t have been there; he wouldn’t have been able to save my leg. I feel very lucky and grateful for him,” Vonn said in a video on Instagram.
Though Vonn is immobile and is using a wheelchair as of current, it will be a long time before her fractures fully heal. It is expected that it will take her about a year to recover from her injuries, but she will also be undergoing ACL reconstruction after that. “It will be a long road but I’ll get there. I’d rather go down swinging than not try at all,” Vonn wrote in an Instagram post.
Lindsey Vonn’s failure to clinch a medal at Milan Cortina won’t tarnish her legacy one bit. The three-time Olympic medalist is an inspiration for the next generation of skiers and her never give up attitude only makes her an even more inspiring figure.