Lindsey Vonn Tears ACL In Training Crash

Olympic downhill champion skier Lindsey Vonn reportedly suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee yesterday after crashing during a training run on Colorado’s Copper Mountain.

In February, Vonn tore the ACL and MCL in the same knee at the world championships in Austria and underwent reconstructive surgery. This latest injury could put her participation at the upcoming Sochi Winter Olympic Games in doubt.

According to a US Ski Team official, Vonn, 29, will take a few days off to rest and then “pursue aggressive physical therapy and will determine the next time she is able to compete after seeing how she responds to the treatment.” The official claimed that she suffered a mild right knee strain, some facial abrasions, and a bruised shoulder in the crash.

Of the latest Lindsey Vonn accident, CBS News observed that “What was not immediately clear: When Vonn might be able to compete and how Tuesday’s injuries might affect her Olympic hopes.” According to USA Today, “A mild tear may have little consequence and require only a few weeks of rest, said Dr. James Gladstone, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City who is not involved in Vonn’s case. A higher grade tear would require a longer recovery period and presumably put her Olympic chances in jeopardy.”

NBC Sports reports that prior to the latest mishap, Vonn planned a full schedule of events in preparation for the upcoming Olympic competition: “Before the crash at Copper Mountain, Colo., on Tuesday, she was expected to return to competitive skiing for the first time at a World Cup stop in Beaver Creek beginning Nov. 29 and enter as many as four events at the Sochi Olympics.” All that is on hold, at least for now, until the extent of the Lindsey Vonn ACL tear is determined.