The younger sister of American alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn has provided a positive update following her sibling’s horrific leg-breaking crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Vonn, 41, was airlifted off the piste after crashing a mere 13 seconds into her final run in the women’s downhill final in Cortina on Sunday, February 8.
GettyThe serious damage Vonn suffered required multiple procedures, with four surgeries having been carried out so far. One specialist even warned that some similar injuries have required the injured leg to be amputated in the past.
Thankfully, that’s not the case on this occasion, and Karin Kildow, 37, says Vonn is remaining “super strong” despite the “rough” time she’s endured.
Karin Wildow Says Lindsey Vonn Is Taking It ‘One Day at a Time’
GettyKarin Wildow — a social and digital strategist for athletes — spoke to TMZ Sports about her sister.
Wildow said, “It’s been a rough one, been in the hospital a lot. Just one day at a time. She’s super strong, but there’s a lot of surgeries and things. We’re working on getting her back to the U.S.”
Thankfully, on the evening of Monday, February 16, Lindsey Vonn confirmed she was indeed back in the United States.
Taking to X, she wrote, “Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week… been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing.”
Vonn finished the post by writing, “Huge thank you to everyone in Italy for taking good care of me.”
This injury is far from Vonn’s first. She even limped away from her final race before this year’s Winter Olympics on January 30 with an ACL tear. The fact was even able to compete in Italy after that is testament to her amazing strength and courage.
Vonn Is ‘Slowly Coming Back to Life’
Lindsey Vonn also took to her Instagram account on Monday to post an upbeat message about her state of mind to her 3.4 million followers. She also took the opportunity to thank those closest to her, and the medical team who treated her, for helping her to deal with her unfortunate situation.
Vonn included a video of her time in hospital in Italy and captioned the post, “Thankful for friends, family, my team and all the medical staff that are getting me back to myself…. I’m slowly coming back to life, back to basics and the simple things in life that mean the most. Smile. Laugh. Love. 🙏🏻❤️”
The caption ended with Vonn writing, “My sister @kar_inthegarage made this video and it instantly made me cry and made my heart full. Love you guys ❤️.”
In the post’s comments section, Vonn’s followers were full of support and admiration for the way she has dealt with her injury.
One follower wrote, “You’re such a rockstar.”
Another Instagram user commented, “We are rooting for a smooth recovery and so proud and inspired by you! This song has been my injury comeback hype song the past few years, it hits just right!!”
Someone else said, “You make everything look cool ❤️.”
Finally, one of Vonn’s friends noted, “Love you woman.”
We’d like to send Lindsey Vonn our warmest and most sincere wishes for a full and speedy recovery.
