Lindsey Vonn Puts Off Retirement After Potentially Career-Ending Knee Injury Cuts Competition Short
Three-time Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn's competition in Cortina, Italy was cut short after injuries to both knees prevented her from finishing in the super-G race on Sunday.
After the early exit, Vonn told reporters, "Now it’s time to listen to my body and it’s time to say goodbye" but the 34-year-old skier took to Instagram on Wednesday with detailed information about her injury and a more hopeful message about her recovery–which she says she's taking "day by day."
Vonn said doctors discovered that the reason she had "so much pain and muscle shut down" was due to an impact injury to her peroneal nerve in the lower leg. While the injury was most likely sustained on the final jump of her first training run in Cortina, there is no way to know definitively.
Her pain increased following the training run and rendered her unable to continue competing. Vonn said she has already started physical therapy but no solution has been determined.
"However, since this is a new 'injury' per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it," Vonn wrote. "I’m taking things day by day and we will see what happens. I know that I might not get the ending to my career that I had hoped for, but if there is a chance, I will take it."
Vonn also added that she had reinjured her left knee during training for last weekend's races. Cortina marked her first races since initially injuring her left knee in November.
She finished 15th and ninth in consecutive downhill races before failing to finish in Sunday's super-G.
The 82-time World Cup winner competed with heavy braces on both knees, telling reporters immediatley after Sunday's race that she may have to consider ending her career.
“I’ve had four surgeries on my right knee; I’ve got no LCL [lateral collateral ligament] on my left knee, “ Vonn said. “There’s only so much I can handle, and I might have reached my maximum."
