American hopes for Olympic downhill gold faced a major scare on February 8 when Lindsey Vonn crashed just seconds into the women’s downhill final at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The 41 year old lost control after hitting a gate and was left screaming in pain as she was taken off the snow. Hours later, her compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin shared her concern for Vonn.

Spectators and supporters fell silent, stunned by the scene, as questions arose about Vonn’s health and Team USA’s chances in the downhill events. However, Shiffrin has now chimed in with a reaction on the heartbreaking turn of events too.

“💔🙏🙏🙏” Mikaela Shiffrin shared her concern for Vonn on X while tagging Lindsey Vonn.

After all, Vonn’s dreams were crushed. Her return to the Olympics was meant to be historic as well as emotional. But just days before the race, she confirmed she would compete in Milan Cortina despite suffering a complete rupture of her left ACL during a World Cup downhill race on January 30.

The injury also included bone bruising and meniscus damage. Still, Lindsey Vonn said she felt confident enough to race with therapy and a knee brace.

Vonn also made two official training runs on her injured knee, the minimum to be eligible for the race. She seemed stable throughout training. However, when it came to the last race day,  Vonn cliped a gate with her shoulder and lost control falling viciously down the slope.

Medics arrived immediately attending to Lindsey Vonn on the snow while the crowd looked on in silence. After about 12-15 minutes, a helicopter airlifted her from the course for further medical evaluation.

The race was temporarily halted and Vonn was later taken to a hospital in Cortina for assessment. But with Vonn out, the pressure now falls on Mikaela Shiffrin.

Team USA’s hopes rest on Mikaela Shiffrin

Lindsey Vonn’s decision to race at 41, even with an artificial knee replacement, made headlines around the world. Even Americans were full of hope and it’s easy to see why. Lindsey Vonn is a three time Olympic medalist, winning gold in the downhill at Vancouver 2010, becoming the first American woman to do so!

Also, she has won 84 World Cup races, four overall World Cup season titles. Interestingly, last Decembe,  she became the oldest skier ever to win a World Cup downhill race. But after her crash on February 8, much of that hope is on hold as she faces recovery. But now, all eyes and hopes turn to Mikaela Shiffrin.

Mikaela Shiffrin is heading into her fourth Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026, and with Vonn out, the pressure and the hope fall squarely on her shoulders. Shiffrin first made waves at Sochi 2014, winning gold in the slalom and becoming the youngest Olympic champion in that event.

At the 2018 PyeongChang, she won a giant slalom gold and a combined silver. Beijing 2022 was an unexpected event, but Cortina has good recollections: in 2019, she won the World Cup Super-G and earned three medals in the 2021 World Championships, including a gold in the combined.

At Milano Cortina, Mikaela Shiffrin will compete in three events including making her Olympic debut in the team event. If she medals in all three, she’ll join the ranks of legends like Janica Kostelic and Anja Parson. With Vonn sidelined, the hopes of American alpine skiing now rest in Shiffrin’s hands and everyone is watching to see if she can rise to the moment.