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Lindsey Vonn’s friend Chemmy Alcott couldn’t help but get emotional live and on-air after watching the Team USA skier crash out at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I actually feel guilty that I’m this emotional, but when we thought about the end of this story… I Just never believed that it would end in her in a clump at the side of the piece not moving,” Alcott said on Sunday, February 8, after Vonn crashed while competing in the women’s downhill event.
“This is an absolute nightmare,” Alcott added, holding back tears. “It’s an absolute nightmare.”
Alcott continued, “Yes, we wanted to watch her come to the finish smiling because she was fast, but we wanted to just see her take on this challenge, and it’s just really tough. I feel so bad that I feel this way, because I think about her family and all of her team and herself. I mean, oh, so sad.”
Vonn, 41, crashed just 13 seconds into her run, where she was immediately heard screaming in pain and seemingly unable to move. She was subsequently airlifted off the course. The athlete was racing on a torn ACL — an injury she sustained just nine days earlier while competing at the World Cup Race in Switzerland.
Hours later, Team USA offered an update on Vonn’s condition.
“Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition,” Team USA’s Ski and Snowboard Team wrote via X on Sunday. “[Vonn] is in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians.”
The nature of Vonn’s additional injury is not yet known.
Before competing in this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Vonn addressed her critics head-on after she received online backlash for her decision to compete despite her ACL injury and her age.
“lol thanks doc,” Vonn posted via X on Saturday, February 7, in response to a sports medicine doctor who was questioning the state of her ligament tear. “My ACL was fully functioning until last Friday. Just because it seems impossible to you doesn’t mean it’s not possible. And yes, my ACL is 100% ruptured. Not 80% or 50%. It’s 100% gone.”
The three-time Olympic medalist also commented on a USA Today opinion article by Greg Graber, in which the writer suggested that Vonn is “risking long-term physical repercussions” by competing with the torn ACL, and is “way past” her prime.
“I’m sorry Greg but this is a very odd opinion piece,” Vonn commented. “The pain and suffering is the point? I’m searching for meaning? Why am I taking risk ‘at my age?’ This ageism stuff is getting really old.”
The 2026 were meant to be Vonn’s big comeback to the sport. Despite retiring in 2019, Vonn decided to make a competitive return in 2024.
“I know what my chances in these Olympics were before this crash, and even though my chances aren’t the same now, there is still a chance,” Vonn said on February 3 of her chances of making the podium. “And as long as I have a chance, I will not lose hope. I will not give up! It’s not over yet. Thank you to everyone who has reached out and supported me. I feel the love and it is giving me strength.”
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