Winter Olympics live: Lindsey Vonn battles through ACL rupture in women’s downhill – UK Times

Lindsey Vonn will take to the Cortina slopes with a ruptured ACL as she battles for a medal against all the odds in the women’s downhill.

The race marks the return of the legendary American skier, six years after she retired from the sport.

Downhill is the 41-year-old’s speciality and boasts an Olympic gold medal in the event, which she won at Vancouver 2010, but hopes of a victorious comeback have been catastrophically hit by a serious knee injury suffered less than a fortnight out from the finals.

While the setback looked certain to rule her out entirely, Vonn has pushed on with teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, one of only two women more successful at World Cup level than four-time winner Vonn, saying: “If anyone can do it, she can do it.”

She’ll face stiff competition for a place on the podium, however, with the aptly named Breezy Johnson leading the field as 2025 world champion, while World Cup champion Federica Brignone hopeful to bring host nation Italy a medal.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the women’s downhill finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina.

We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and action from the slopes, right here!