Lindsey Vonn has been forced to wait for her chance to test her injured knee after heavy snowfall forced the cancellation of the first women’s downhill training at the Winter Olympics.
The American skiing icon was due to take part in Thursday morning’s training session in Cortina d’Ampezzo as she attempts to compete at the 2026 Games with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
But she will have to wait until at least Friday after Milan-Cortina organisers announced the first session had been shelved “due to the ongoing snowfall and the forecast for tomorrow [Thursday]”.
Cortina was set to host three downhill training sessions ahead of the race on Sunday which opens the women’s alpine skiing at the Olympics.
“With the weather I think I’m sure we’ll expect some delays or changes over the next few days,” News Zealand’s Alice Robinson told reporters just before Thursday’s session was shelved.
“I think everyone that’s here has experienced that quite a lot just looking at the snow. But I’m sure it’s going to be good come race day. They always do a great job here so with the new snow I’m sure it’s going to be good.”
Vonn insisted on Tuesday that she will compete for medals in Cortina even after her injury, which she suffered while crashing out of last week’s World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana. The 41-year-old came out of retirement in November 2024 after persistent pain led to surgery to partially replace her right knee earlier that year.
Earlier her coach said he was confident that the American skiing great can be competitive at the Olympics. “I’m pretty confident that she can still pull off this dream,” Chris Knight said. “I’ve got no doubts in my mind that this is going to be OK.”
