US Ski Team names Lindsey Vonn to A-team roster following Olympic leg injury

Inclusion in the national team roster

The United States ski federation named 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn to its official A-team roster for the 2026/27 alpine skiing season on 7 October 2026. The roster, published via social media channels from Park City, contains 17 athletes, including 31-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin, with Vonn listed in the 16th position. The federation mentioned Vonn in a single sentence in its accompanying press materials without clarifying her competition schedule. The World Cup circuit begins at the end of October in Sölden, Austria.

Severe Olympic crash and initial treatment

Vonn's nomination follows a severe accident during the Olympic downhill competition in Cortina d'Ampezzo in February 2026. Competing with a previously torn anterior cruciate ligament, Vonn lost control a few seconds into the course and fell hard onto the piste, with her shouts of pain captured by slope-side microphones. She suffered a complex multi-fragment fracture of her left shinbone, which surgeons stabilized using an external fixation frame. During hospitalisation, Vonn developed acute compartment syndrome as excessive internal bleeding created severe pressure in the injured leg.

That means this area of the body was so traumatized that too much blood collected. It more or less crushes everything there. Muscles, nerves, everything dies off.

Emergency surgery prevented the amputation of her left leg, leading to multiple follow-up operations in subsequent weeks. Following the emergency interventions, her father Alan Kildow publicly dismissed any prospect of her continuing in competitive sport.

She is 41 years old and that is the end of her career. There will be no further ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have a say in the matter.

Rehabilitation and upcoming surgical procedures

Vonn remains in active physical therapy and has another surgical procedure scheduled for November 2026. That operation is planned to remove the remaining metal stabilization hardware from her leg and surgically repair her torn cruciate ligament. In April 2026, Vonn stated that recovery following the ligament reconstruction would require six to nine additional months, ruling out any competitive return before the 2027/28 winter season. This medical timeline prevents her from participating in the upcoming 2027 World Ski Championships in Switzerland.

Wildcard eligibility and career outlook

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation confirmed that Vonn holds personal wildcard eligibility should she choose to return to World Cup racing. Across her career, the 2010 Olympic downhill champion recorded four overall World Cup titles and 84 World Cup race victories. During spring and summer television interviews, Vonn acknowledged that her family opposed a return, yet she declined to announce a definitive retirement. By August 2026, she resumed weight training and recreational tennis as part of her rehabilitation routine.

I know what it is like not to be a racer anymore. It is just that ski racing is something I love. And I had so much fun this season, but I didn't have a final run.

Vonn added that she might enter a single farewell race or consider a broader comeback once her rehabilitation concludes.