Lindsey Vonn, skiing on torn ACL, crashes in Olympic downhill - ESPN

Lindsey Vonn, racing on a badly injured left knee, crashed early in the Olympic downhill Sunday and was taken off the course by a helicopter after the 41-year-old American received medical attention on the snow.

Vonn lost control over the opening traverse after cutting the line too tight and was spun around in the air. She was heard screaming out after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel before she was strapped to a gurney and flown away by a helicopter, possibly ending the skier's storied career.

The race was put on hold for more than 20 minutes as Vonn received treatment. Her teammate, Breezy Johnson, won the event and joined Vonn as the only American women to win the Olympic downhill.

Vonn's crash was «tragic, but it's ski racing,» said Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.

«I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport,» he said, «because this race has been the talk of the Games and it's put our sport in the best possible light.»

Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds on the course.

Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course she knows so well and holds a record 12 World Cup wins.

«That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see,» Vonn's sister, Karin Kildow, said in an interview on Peacock. «She always goes 110 percent, there's never anything less, so I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes things happen. It's a very dangerous sport.»

Kildow said Vonn was being evaluated and that the family would meet her at the hospital.

«We're happy everyone's