CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn’s pursuit of an against-all-odds Olympic medal ended Sunday in a devastating crash only 13.4 seconds into the downhill final.
Skiing in a brace just nine days after rupturing the ACL in her left knee, Vonn did not finish the final at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. She was attempting to become the oldest Alpine skier, man or woman, to win an Olympic medal.
Under ideal, bluebird conditions at the craggy top of the famed Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Vonn pushed off as the 13th woman to go down the 1.6-mile-long course, with 23 competitors waiting their turn behind her.
Vonn tapped her poles together three times before pulling out of the gate. Before reaching the first marker of the course, however, she crashed and tumbled, hitting her head in the process until coming to a merciful stop. Screams of pain could be heard on the broadcast.
