Alpine skiing-Vonn vows to enter Milano Cortina downhill despite ruptured ACL

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 3 : Lindsey Vonn will try and race Sunday's women's downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics despite a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), usually a season-ending knee injury, in what she hoped could yet be a comeback against all odds.

The 41-year-old U.S. Alpine ski great, and 2010 Olympic champion, revealed for the first time on Tuesday the full extent of her injuries and outlined what she might still achieve after a downhill crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.

"Last Friday in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL," the downhill World Cup leader told a packed press conference in her opening statement.

"I also have bone bruising, which is a common injury on the entire ACL, plus meniscal damage which we're not sure if that was pre-existing or from a crash.

"But we have been doing extensive therapy and been consulting with doctors, been in the gym, and today I went skiing. And considering how my knee feels, it feels stable, I feel strong."

The first of three official training sessions for the downhill starts on Thursday on Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olimpia delle Tofane piste.

A torn ACL usually requires surgery with a recovery time of six to nine months.

ON EVERY DOWNHILL PODIUM SO FAR

Until Crans-Montana, a race that was cancelled after her crash due to the weather conditions, Vonn had stood on every downhill podium in a standout season following her 2024 comeback.

Winner of two races, with one second place and two thirds, the age and injury-defying American had made an Olympic comeback in Cortina - the favourite Italian resort where she had excelled in the past - her main target.

"My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday,"