The women’s downhill final at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics saw a terrifying crash that left the entire crowd silent. Lindsey Vonn, who was ready for her comeback on the sport’s grandest stage, crashed 13 seconds into her run, ending what could’ve been a fairytale final Olympic stint of her career. And just a few hours later, full medical details of the incident revealed grueling details.

Sky Sports reported that following the initial orthopedic surgery to stabilize the fracture in her already injured left leg, the Ca’Foncello hospital in Treviso confirmed that Vonn went through two essential operations. And these procedures were intended to prevent complications linked to swelling and blood flow.

Following her being admitted to the hospital, she was aided by an experienced medical team, including American and Italian physicians, and eventually Team USA confirmed her being in stable condition, but owing to her recovery, she will miss out on the entire Olympic Games.

Chief of Sport for U.S. Ski and Snowboard, Anouk Patty, said, “She’ll [Vonn] be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process. This sport’s brutal, and people need to remember when they’re watching (that) these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”

The 41-year-old underwent an orthopedic operation, which was on the same leg that had the torn ACL, which she suffered just a week before the Games, and she still chose to compete in the women’s downhill final following successful training runs.

“I will race tomorrow in my final Olympic Downhill and while I can’t guarantee a good result, I can guarantee I will give it everything I have,” Vonn wrote before the race. While her confidence was brimming, fate chose another path for her.

Indeed, at the initial jump, Vonn’s right ski pole hit the gate, which made her lose control while she was in the air, and she crashed on the Italian snow. Screams were heard from the skier who was lying motionless on the course. But are you aware that during the time she was getting airlifted to a medical check-up, the 41-year-old had a certain message for a fellow Team USA athlete?

Lindsey Vonn’s direct statement to the gold medalist Breezy Johnson

“Tell Breezy congrats and good job,” Lindsey Vonn said, as revealed by her coach Aksel Lund Svindal through an IG post. She delivered this message to her fellow American skier, who was in the lead for the downhill gold at the Winter Games, while the 41-year-old was about to get air-lifted.

Svindal, fascinated by this statement, wrote, “Lindsey. You’re incredibly brave. You inspire people that follow your journey and us that work closely with you every day. Yesterday was a tough day on the mountain. For everyone, but most of all for you. Still something happened that I think says everything.”

He added, “Your teammate was in the lead, and that’s the message you wanted the US skiteam coaches to remember before you got airlifted to the hospital. Real character shows up in the hard moments.”

For the 30-year-old Breezy Johnson, this was her career-first Olympic gold medal. However, the atmosphere was quite tense following Vonn’s crash, which was evident in her fellow skier’s statements that surfaced later.

“I don’t have anything except that her coach said that she was cheering for me in the helicopter. I hope that it’s not too bad. My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes,” Johnson said about Vonn when she was asked if she had any update regarding the 41-year-old’s condition.

So, Vonn’s focus will now shift from trying for that final Olympic glory to a full recovery. This crash, though brutal, could never bend the legacy she has in the sport.