‘No regrets’ – Lindsey Vonn breaks silence after horror Winter Olympics crash to reject ACL claim

Lindsey Vonn has insisted that her ACL injury did not cause her Winter Olympics to end with a horrifying crash.

The American crashed out just 13 seconds into her women’s downhill course run on Sunday and was airlifted to the hospital.

AFP

Vonn took to the slopes despite rupturing the ACL in her left knee eight days before the games commenced.

She has undergone orthopaedic surgery on her left leg fracture, and has now released a statement on Instagram to confirm her status.

Vonn: Torn ACL ‘had nothing to do’ with crash

“Yesterday, my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a storybook ending or a fairy tale; it was just life.

“I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it. Because in Downhill ski racing, the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as 5 inches.

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash. My ACL and past injuries had nothing to do with my crash whatsoever.

“Unfortunately, I sustained a complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.

“While yesterday did not end the way I had hoped, and despite the intense physical pain it caused, I have no regrets. Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget.

“Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself. I also knew that racing was a risk. It always was and always will be an incredibly dangerous sport.

“And similar to ski racing, we take risks in life. We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken.

Getty

Getty

“Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have. But that is also the beauty of life; we can try.

“I tried. I dreamt. I jumped. I hope if you take anything from my journey it’s that you all have the courage to dare greatly.

“Life is too short not to take chances on yourself. Because the only failure in life is not trying. I believe in you, just as you believed in me. LV.”

Vonn is a three-time medalist at the Winter Olympics and took gold in the downhill event in 2010.

However, her father Alan Kildow has stressed that he wants her to call it quits following her crash.

“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” he told The Associated Press.

“There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”

More to follow…