One of the biggest storylines from the Winter Olympics in Milan involved 41-year-old former Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, one of the most decorated skiers in the world.

Just a week before the Games, she tore her ACL during a World Cup race in Switzerland. Despite the injury, Vonn remained determined to compete and completed two test runs days before the Olympics to prove she was ready.

However, seconds into her first downhill event, Vonn crashed and suffered a complex tibia fracture in her leg. She was airlifted to a local hospital in Italy, where she underwent multiple surgeries.

She has since returned to the United States for further surgical procedures and revealed that she came dangerously close to needing her leg amputated due to the severity of the injury.

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Lindsey Vonn is out of the hospital 2 weeks after her crash in the Winter Olympics 🙏

Vonn says she ‘almost had to have her leg amputated’ due to compartment syndrome – a condition where increased pressure within the muscles restricts blood flow

(Via @lindseyvonn) pic.twitter.com/DWMSlvjHBJ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 23, 2026

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On Wednesday, ESPN’s Pat McAfee shared a strong message of support for the American skiing star as she begins her long recovery journey.

“Lindsey Vonn … absolute dog,” McAfee said during his show on ESPN. “Everybody was telling her no way, you should not be doing this. This is not what you should be doing, and she said, ‘Yeah, right, are you kidding me?’ Then you learn about everything happening in her life around all that’s taken place. Her going out there and then literally having to be choppered off the mountain — it’s like going out on your shield. Lindsey, that’s an absolute dog, and thank you for everything you’ve done for the United States of America, Lindsey Vonn.”

ESPN Broadcaster Pat McAfee talks before the game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh,…Read More | Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

Vonn’s Olympic journey is likely over for good, as she would be 45 by the time the 2030 Games take place in France. But if these were indeed her final Games, she went out in one of the most courageous ways possible during a February marked by nothing but adversity for the former gold medalist.

SOURCE: https://www.newsweek.com/sports/pat-mcafee-has-strong-message-for-lindsey-vonn-after-devastating-olympic-injury-11582720