Lindsey Vonn’s coach, Asked Lund Svindal, revealed Saturday after she finished third in a trial run that there are still two major hurdles for the 41-year-old to clear in this stunning attempt to win gold after such a major injury.<\/b>
\nThe next time it counts for Lindsey Vonn.
Vonn completed her second tuneup Saturday in Italy ahead of the 2026 Olympic Games despite rupturing her left ACL last week, and next up is the women\u2019s downhill event Sunday.
Her coach, Asked Lund Svindal, revealed Saturday after she finished third in a trial run that there are still two major hurdles for the 41-year-old to clear in this stunning attempt to win gold after such a major injury.
The first involves the intensity that will be required to claim gold, with Vonn finishing Saturday\u2019s run 0.37 seconds behind winning teammate Breezy Johnson.
\u201cShe knows that she\u2019ll have to push harder tomorrow because the rest of the girls will and it\u2019s the Olympic downhill \u2014 you\u2019re not going to get away with a medal there unless you push hard,\u201d Svindal told the Associated Press on Saturday. \u201cI think she\u2019s ready for that.\u201d
The second centers on just how that knee will cooperate during jumps, a concern for many who have wondered just how Vonn can compete so soon after an ACL tear.
The AP reported that Vonn has favored her leg after landing following jumps during these two training sessions, which affects her balance.
Any slight disturbance can be the difference between winning a medal or not.
\u201cTry to have less of that tomorrow if we can,\u201d Svindal said, per the AP. \u201cIt\u2019s the landings that hurt the most.\u201d
Vonn told the AP \u201call good\u201d after Saturday\u2019s run, and now she will attempt to overcome all the odds in her Olympics return after unretiring.
Vonn retired in 2019 after battling injuries before deciding in 2024 she would give it another go for the 2026 Olympics and attempt to win her second gold.
Those dreams seemed dashed when she injured her left knee last week during preparations for the Olympic Games, with the ACL tear ultimately being revealed.
Vonn is somehow not letting that stop here, wearing a large brace on her left knee and participating in the two trial runs Friday and Saturday before Sunday\u2019s event.
Svindal said that the brace negatively affects Vonn\u2019s aerodynamics, but they are not harping on it.
\u201cWe\u2019re not focusing on that because if she starts to ask to take the brace away I think there\u2019s a couple of doctors that would have something to say about that,\u201d he told the AP.
\u201cPlease don\u2019t ask her that question.\u201d<\/p>\n