Lindsey Vonn Crashes In Training Run, Awaiting Doctor’s Evaluation

Fans hoping to see reigning women’s Olympic downhill skiing champion Lindsey Vonn back on the slopes in top form might be in for some bad news.

Reports are that Vonn crashed Tuesday during a training run on Colorado’s Copper Mountain. Lindsey is said to have left the ski slope on a sled, for the hospital, where her condition was not known.

“She is being evaluated,” said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association spokesman Tom Kelly via the SportsXchange. “We’ll have a report once we know more.”

“We have no reason to believe it’s anything significant right now,” Kelly told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Ski Racing Magazine reports that Lindsey Vonn had hoped to return to competition at the World Cup event at Beaver Creek. As Vonn’s condition is currently unknown, that might not be out of the question; the women’s event kicks off on Friday, November 29 and more information about Lindsey’s status should be available soon.

Being taken down the mountain on a sled is standard procedure and, according to the AP report, Lindsey Vonn was not admitted to a hospital; Lindsey instead opted to go home to Vail and be evaluated by the physician who performed her knee surgery. In February, Vonn didn’t have such a choice, being airlifted to a medical facility after a crash in Austria, in which Lindsey tore both the ACL and MCL in her right knee.

“We expect to have clarity on the situation in the next 24 hours,” Lindsey Vonn spokesperson Lewis Kay said.

Apparently Vonn has been defiant of the doctor’s orders that she wear a brace to protect her surgically-repaired knee, but Lindsey recognizes the importance of proper caution.

“It’s in my best interest to play it safe,” Vonn said. “I compromised and said that as long as I don’t have to wear it for the Olympics, I’ll be fine.”

Lindsey Vonn fans around the world are hoping she will get to compete in the 2014 Olympics; the Sochi Winter Games are less than three months away. With Vonn’s recovery proceeding ahead of schedule, hopefully Tuesday’s crash doesn’t set her back and mar her hopes for repeating with Olympic gold.

[Image via Wally Skalij / LA Times]