Lindsey Vonn’s father urges her to retire after Olympic leg break as family shares terrifying hospital details

Lindsey Vonn lined up at the Winter Olympics knowing her body was already hurting. What followed left her family shaken and her future uncertain. Just days after tearing her left ACL in a training crash, the 41-year-old American ski star still chose to race in the women’s downhill in Cortina.

That decision ended in heartbreak. Only 13 seconds into her run, Lindsey Vonn lost control while turning and crashed hard. She was left with a broken leg and had to be airlifted off the mountain. Doctors rushed her to a hospital in Treviso, Italy, where she later had surgery to stabilize her leg. The U.S. Ski Team confirmed she was in stable condition, but there have been no further medical updates since. For her father, the injury feels final.

Speaking from the hospital, he made it clear he does not want his daughter to race again. The focus now, he says, is her health, not medals or mountains.

Alan Kildow says Lindsey Vonn should never ski again after watching her Olympic nightmare

Lindsey Vonn’s father, Alan Kildow, spoke honestly about what this moment means for his daughter. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said, “She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career. There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”

Alan Kildow has been by her side since the crash. He said he slept in her hospital room and made sure she was never alone. “She has somebody with her, or multiple people with her, at all times,” he told the AP.Even after such a violent fall, he said Lindsey Vonn has stayed strong. “She knows physical pain and she understands the circumstances that she finds herself in. And she’s able to handle it. Better than I expected. She’s a very, very strong person,” he said.The family watched the crash from the finish area. Alan Kildow described the moment as shocking and hard to accept. “You can go into an emotional shock,” he explained. “It’s difficult to just accept what’s happened.”Hospital officials confirmed Lindsey Vonn had surgery on her left leg late Sunday. The U.S. Ski Team said she was stable. No timeline for recovery has been shared.Despite the injury, her recent comeback had already been remarkable.

She returned last season after nearly six years away and after knee replacement surgery. She won two downhill races and reached the podium seven times. Lindsey Vonn also holds 12 World Cup wins in Cortina and sits second on the all-time women’s win list behind teammate Mikaela Shiffrin.Alan Kildow said she will not return to the Olympics to support teammates. “No, she’s not in that kind of situation,” he said.U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s chief of sport Anouk Patty reminded fans how dangerous the sport is, saying, “This sport’s brutal, and people need to remember when they’re watching that these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”