News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

U.S. Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Injured In Austria; Out For Season

Skier Lindsay Vonn is airlifted after crashing during the women's Super-G event in Schladming, Austria, possibly injuring her knee, on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.
Luca Bruno
/
AP
Skier Lindsay Vonn is airlifted after crashing during the women's Super-G event in Schladming, Austria, possibly injuring her knee, on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association says that American skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during the women's world Super-G competition in Austria today and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Reports indicate she may have a serious knee injury.

The gold-winning Olympian was trailing the race leader by 0.12 seconds, according to the USSA, when she crashed. She was taken for medical treatment by helicopter, which the organization says is 'standard protocol'.

Vonn was racing strongly when she went down and lost her balance, says the Associated Press, which notes her ski came off and she tumbled into a gate before she came to rest. The race had been delayed for more than three hours due to thick fog.

Update at 1:15 p.m. ET. She's Out For The Season:

"According to U.S. Ski Team Medical Director Kyle Wilkens, Vonn suffered a torn ACL and MCL in her right knee and a lateral tibial plateau fracture. She will be out for the remainder of this season but is expected to return to racing for the 2013-14 Audi FIS World Cup season and the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Korva Coleman is a newscaster for NPR.