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Lindsey Vonn’s grand gesture before returning home

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Lindsey Vonn has returned home to Colorado in the United States after a week of hospitalization at Ca’Foncello Hospital in Treviso, Italy. The American champion, who underwent four surgeries on her left leg after a terrible fall in the downhill at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, left the clinic Sunday morning giving away all the soft toys she received in recent days to the children hospitalized in the pediatrics ward.

Luca GiorgettiLindsey Vonn, tremendous fall and end of Olympic dream in Cortina: photos

Lindsey Vonn falls after very few seconds in the downhill on the Tofane Olympia at Milan-Cortina 2026.
Thus ends the attempt to rewrite history by the champion. Astonished audience.
The race is immediately stopped after the fall of the American champion.
She closes in tears the dream of winning an Olympic medal at 41 years old.

Vonn aimed to overtake compatriot Breezy Johnson, in the lead up to that point.
Started with bib 13, she chooses a very high line at the'entrance of the first crossbar.
He hits a goal with his right shoulder, loses his balance and falls ruinously.

The'impact takes place on the'Olympia of the Tofane, a track where he had already triumphed twelve times in his career.
The screams of pain of the champion break the silence of Cortina.

In previous days she had revealed the complete rupture of the cruciate ligament in Crans Montana.
The'injury had occurred in the'last World Cup race before the Olympics.
The first responders arrive immediately on the track after the fall.
Vonn is immobilized and loaded onto the toboggan by rescuers.
The'helicopter transports the American champion away from the Tofane.

Vonn had made an appeal on social media after the fourth operation: “I have read many messages and comments from people saying they are sad about what happened to me. Please don&#8217t be sad. I wholeheartedly welcome empathy, love and support, but please not sadness or pity. Instead, I hope this gives you the strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and what I will continue to do. Always”.

“When I think back to my fall… I was not at the starting gate unaware of the potential consequences– added the star athlete -. I knew what I was doing. I chose to take a risk. Every skier in that gate took the same risk. Because even if you are the strongest person in the world, the mountain always holds the cards”.

“I was willing to risk, push and sacrifice for something that I knew I was absolutely capable of doing. I will always take the risk of falling giving it my all, rather than not skiing to my potential and having regrets – continued Vonn. I never want to cross the finish line and say, ‘What if…?’. And to be honest, I was physically stronger at that moment than I have often been in the past. Definitely stronger than when I ended my career in 2019 with a bronze at Worlds. And mentally… Mentally I was perfect. Clear-headed, focused, hungry, aggressive and yet completely calm… just as I had been training for the past few months when I stood on the podium in every downhill this season”.

“It was all a test to prepare me for the Olympics. Mentally I was more ready than I have ever been. But just because I was ready, that did not guarantee me anything. Nothing in life is guaranteed. That&#8217s the gamble of chasing your dreams: you might fall, but if you don&#8217t try, you will never know. So please don&#8217t feel sad. The race is worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night I have no regrets and the’love I have for skiing remains. I can&#8217t wait for the time when I can stand on top of the mountain again. And I will”.

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