Within hours of Lindsey Vonn’s horrific accident on the downhill run in Cortina d’Ampezzo earlier today, words like “reckless” and “stupid” were thrown around.
Headlines asked, “Should Lindsey Vonn have even been at the Winter Olympics”?
And armchair experts globally opined about Vonn’s body, age, previous injury, and inability to make a sensible decision about competing at the Olympics.
Vonn, who just came out of a five-year retirement to compete at her fifth Olympic Games at the age of 41, was airlifted off the mountain following the sickening crash, in a moment that silenced spectators.
At the time of writing, we knew little about her condition, other than that she is “stable” and that she has undergone surgery.
There is no evidence yet that the crash was caused by an injury she sustained in her left leg nine days ago.
But there was still no waiting for the commentary about Vonn’s decision to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics, especially those who had previously questioned Vonn’s decision to soldier on in the first place.
They told her so, right?
These commentators – the vast majority of whom have never skied anything like what Vonn has charged down over decades of competing and training, and the vast of them men – claim she should never have been there, that the risk was too high.
And all of them with no idea how an athlete like Vonn should handle competition and manage an existing injury.
How many of them would have much to say about a football player returning to a major finals game, following a head injury? How many of them will be opining about whether the lineup of men for the Super Bowl today should or should not be playing based on previous injuries and recent concussions?
Vonn is a gold medalist in downhill and has set multiple records throughout her career across a wide range of skiing disciplines.
Unstoppable courage, an exceedingly high tolerance for risk and belief in oneself are essential for these disciplines.
Indeed, this high risk tolerance was evident over the past week following Vonn’s decision to continue competing in the Olympics. It was a risk, one that many others might consider a step too far to take themselves. But it was a risk that she decided to take and one that, at 41 and with her decades of experience and competition behind her, Vonn decided for herself.
Hurling yourself into the air at speed does seem incredibly reckless for anyone, regardless of age and previous injury. But this is not merely an extreme sport; it is an Olympic sport. One with an industry behind it, watched by hundreds of millions of people globally. One where injuries are expected, constantly. Where helicopters are positioned ready for accidents, and are regularly called on. Athletes don’t just decide to continue competing after an injury; they do so knowing that their Olympic event only comes around every four years. They do so with the knowledge and experience they have, the advice they can get, and the knowledge that this may be their only or final ever chance.
Perhaps we could say something about the pressure these athletes face to take extreme risks, much of it for our own entertainment, for events that look sickeningly dangerous.
But let’s leave the judgment of Vonn’s assessment of her own body, age, and the amount of “risk” and “recklessness” she can handle to Vonn herself.
And wish Vonn a fast recovery.