Lindsey Vonn, American alpine ski racer, was competing at the Olympics in Italy when she crashed. Her run down the Olympia delle Tofane slope in Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy resulted in a tibia fracture requiring multiple surgeries to fully fix according to Vonn’s instagram. 

“I was simply 5 inches too tight on my line when my right arm hooked inside of the gate, twisting me and resulted in my crash,” Vonn said in her instagram post on Feb 9. 

The gate is either one or two poles which defines the course for a skier. Vonn was too close to the gate, resulting in her crash. 

Vonn said she sustained a tibia fracture. While she does have to undergo surgeries, it is stable at the moment. 

Previously during a downhill race in Switzerland on Jan. 30 she crashed and injured her left knee. 

“I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams,” Vonn said in a post from the same day. 

Vonn was unable to race the next day but posted wishing her teammates good luck. 

On Feb. 3 Vonn posted an update to her instagram stating that she ruptured – or completely tore – her ACL when she crashed on Jan. 30. 

“After extensive consultations with doctors, intense therapy, physical tests as well as skiing today, I have determined I am capable of competing in the Olympic Downhill on Sunday,” Vonn said. “I am confident in my body’s ability to perform. Despite my injuries my knee is stable, I do not have swelling and my muscles are firing and reacting as they should.”

Before her Olympic run Vonn took to Instagram to let her fans know that she had two practice runs that went well.

Moving into her Olympic run, Vonn was in high spirits until the crash on the Italian slope. 

“Yesterday my Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would. It wasn’t a story book ending or a fairy tail, it was just life. I dared to dream and had worked so hard to achieve it,” Vonn said.

Vonn, competing in downhill, was a part of the Alpine skiing portion of the Olympics. Other portions include super-g, giant slalom, slalom and combined. The downhill final saw Breezy Johnson from Team USA win gold, Emma Aicher from Team Germany win silver and Sofia Goggia from Team Italy win bronze. 

Even though Vonn did not win, she said that she has no regrets. 

“Standing in the starting gate yesterday was an incredible feeling that I will never forget. Knowing I stood there having a chance to win was a victory in and of itself,” Vonn said. 

Vonn said her Olympic dream didn’t finish the way she dreamed. She said that she worked so hard and that she dared to dream. She compared ski racing to life saying that in both you take risks. 

“We dream. We love. We jump. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes our hearts are broken. Sometimes we don’t achieve the dreams we know we could have.” Vonn said, “But that is the also the beauty of life; we can try. I tried. I dreamt. I jumped.”

Vonn ended her post saying that she believes in everyone as they believed in her.