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American skier Lindsey Vonn completed an Olympic training run Friday (February 6) for the first time since since tearing her ACL last week.
Vonn, 41, finished a relatively clean run with a 1:40.33 time while wearing a brace on her left knee on the Olympia delle Tofane slope, which placed her 11th out of 43 finishers. The skiing legend hasn't determined whether she'll participate in training on Saturday (February 7) after one of her three opportunities to complete was eliminated on Thursday (February 5) due to heavy snow and dangerous conditions ahead of Sunday's downhill event.
"Nothing makes me happier! No one would have believed I would be here… but I made it!! I’m here, I’m smiling and no matter what, I know how lucky I am. I’m not going to waste this chance. Let’s go get it!!" Vonn wrote on her Instagram account along with photos of herself prior to the training run.
The legendary skier confirmed her decision to still compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics during a press conference on Tuesday (February 3).
"Normally in the past, there's always a moment where you break down and you realize the severity of things and that your dreams are slipping through your fingers," Vonn said via USA TODAY. "I didn't have that this time. I'm not letting this slip through my fingers. I'm gonna do it, end of story. So I'm not letting myself go down that path. I'm not crying. My head is high, I'm standing tall, and I'm gonna do my best, and whatever the result is, that's what it is. But never say I didn't try."
Vonn reportedly lost control while landing a jump and got tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course during her final run before the 2026 Winter Olympics last Friday (January 30). The legendary skier received medical attention for about five minutes before getting up, appearing to experience pain as she used her poles to steady herself.
Vonn said she isn't in pain and her knee wasn't swollen after skiing on Tuesday. The 41-year-old had previously had a partial titanium replacement inserted into her right knee in 2024, prior to returning to ski racing last year after a nearly six-year retirement after announcing her compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics two years prior.
Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, which included winning gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Vancouver Games and bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, as well as being a four-time overall World Cup champion and eight-time world championships medalist. Vonn's 82 World Cup race victories -- with her career total now at 84 -- stood as the most for any female skier until being eclipsed by fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin, 30, who is now at 108 career wins, the most of any Alpine skier in history.
The 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6 to February 22. iHeartMedia will provided 24/7 coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics and play-by-play action during live premium events.