Lindsey Vonn Cards To Buy After Her ACL News & Before The Olympics Start
Lindsey Vonn is back in the spotlight for exactly the reason collectors have always gravitated to her: she simply refuses to back down.
One week before the 2026 Winter Olympics, the 41-year-old crashed hard in a World Cup downhill at Crans-Montana, clutching her left knee after smashing into the safety nets and sitting out the following day’s super-G. Vonn later told fans she tore her ACL and was facing an uphill battle, but so long as there was a possibility, she was still in it:
“I know what my chances were before the crash, and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today, but I know there's still a chance, and as long as there's a chance, I will try.”
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“As long as there is a chance, I will try.”@LindseyVonn is determined to compete at @milanocortina26 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/Xj808fYT0a
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 3, 2026
For collectors, that mindset matters as much as any medal count. Vonn’s career has never been just about wins—it’s been about resilience, reinvention, and a willingness to push past limits most athletes won’t even approach.
A Career Built on Records and Dominance
Lindsey Vonn is one of the most decorated alpine skiers in history. Her 84 World Cup victories remain the gold standard for American ski racing and rank second all-time among women. She’s one of only six women ever to win World Cup races in all five disciplines—downhill, super-G, giant slalom, slalom and combined—and she captured four overall World Cup titles (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012), including three straight.
On the Olympic stage, she owns three medals: downhill gold at Vancouver 2010 and bronzes in super-G (2010) and downhill (2018). Add in multiple world championship golds and a decade-plus stretch as the sport’s premier speed racer, and you have a resume that puts her firmly in the conversation of all-time greats.
Injuries, Comebacks, and the Olympic Mindset
Vonn’s legend isn’t just built on victories—it’s built on what she’s endured. Since 2013, she has battled multiple ACL and MCL tears, fractures in both knees, a fractured humerus, ankle breaks and chronic back issues. She missed the 2014 Olympics, saw multiple seasons derailed, and retired in 2019 after tearing her LCL and suffering three fractures in her left knee.
Then came the plot twist: a titanium-reinforced knee, a return in her 40s, and—astonishingly—World Cup wins again. In December 2025, she became the oldest skier ever to win a World Cup race. By early 2026, she had pushed her total to 84 victories and entered the Olympic season as a legitimate podium threat.
Now she’s attempting to race with a fully ruptured ACL, bone bruising and meniscus damage—planning to compete with a brace and limited treatment time. It’s not just a comeback; it’s a continuation of one of the most extreme durability stories in modern sport.
Longevity, Fame, and Pop-Culture Gravity
Vonn’s relevance has always extended well beyond alpine racing. She was named AP Female Athlete of the Year in 2010, became a fixture in global brand campaigns, and maintained mainstream visibility through media work even during injury layoffs and retirement.
That crossover presence is crucial for collectibles. It means her cards, autographs and memorabilia appeal not just to ski diehards, but to collectors who chase iconic sports figures with broader cultural footprints—athletes whose stories resonate beyond their discipline.
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How Her Story Fits Among the Great Olympic Comebacks
Vonn’s situation invites comparisons to classic resilience moments, like Kerri Strug landing her vault on an injured ankle in 1996, or modern comeback arcs from Tiger Woods and Alex Smith.
The difference: Vonn’s story isn’t one heroic moment—it’s a decade-long cycle of injury, rebuild and return, capped by an Olympic push in her 40s. That sustained defiance is rare, and it’s exactly the kind of narrative collectors love to anchor around.
If Milano-Cortina truly becomes her final chapter, it won’t be remembered as a quiet goodbye—it will be remembered as one more audacious attempt to do the impossible. And in the collectibles world, stories like that tend to age exceptionally well.
Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most.
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