Should Lindsey Vonn have withdrawn from the Olympics? © APA / HANS KLAUS TECHT

Should Vonn not have started? Ski boss responds to critics

Skiing world federation chief Johan Eliasch has rejected criticism that Lindsey Vonn was allowed to start in the Olympic downhill despite her previous injury.

February 09, 2026

From: sn/dpa

“I firmly believe that such a decision must be made by each individual athlete,” said the FIS president after the serious accident involving the American athlete. Vonn (41) had started at the Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo despite having torn her cruciate ligament shortly before, but then crashed heavily in the downhill race. She was taken to the hospital, a There was initially no official diagnosis.

Following the crash, some criticism arose against the organizers for allowing the injured Vonn to compete. "She knows the injuries on her body better than anyone else," countered Eliasch, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "If you look around, every single athlete has some kind of injury."

Eliasch emphasizes: "It's a dangerous sport."

Vonn made her World Cup comeback last season with a partial knee replacement in her right knee. In the final race before the Olympics, she crashed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and, according to her own account, suffered a torn cruciate ligament in her left knee. Such injuries usually require surgery and several months of recovery. However, the best downhill skier of the winter decided to risk competing in Cortina with a special brace.

FIS boss Johan Eliasch has a clear opinion on Lindsey Vonn. © APA / EXPA/ JOHANN GRODER

The subsequent accident in the Olympic downhill race had nothing to do with her knee. "Incredibly unfortunate" was how official Eliasch described the fall the day after the accident, speaking on the sidelines of the men's team combined event in Bormio. Vonn had caught her right arm on a gate at the precise moment of a jump, causing her upper body to spin violently in mid-air. "Nobody can catch something like that," the FIS president explained. "But sometimes that's just part of ski racing. It's a dangerous sport."