Lindsey Vonn steps out on crutches for Met Gala days after opening door to wild comeback
Lindsey Vonn is leaving the door open for a return to professional skiing, despite almost requiring a leg amputation following a horrific crash at Milano Cortina.
The US skier has undergone eight surgeries since suffering a complex fracture to the same leg that had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament - suffered two weeks before the Winter Olympic Games - just 13 seconds into her first and only run of the women's downhill final in February.
The injury led many to believe that Vonn's career on the slopes would be over, but the 41-year-old, who is set to attend the Met Gala on Tuesday (AEST), is not emotionally ready to make that call just yet.
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Lindsey Vonn shares an update from her hospital bed after undergoing surgery. lindseyvonn
"I'm still in survival mode," she told CNN.
"Maybe this is going to be the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life. Maybe some door will open that would never otherwise be open to me.
"As horrible as this is and as hard as it is, like, who knows where the future will take me in? I'm just kind of along for the ride."
It is not the first time that Vonn has toyed with retirement, having officially quit the sport in 2019. She then returned in 2024 with her sights set on Milano Cortina 2026.
Vonn had not finished lower than fourth in any downhill World Cup event in the 2025/26 season prior to her crash in Italy. She was also on top of the world standings for the discipline.
Lindsey Vonn inspects the course before the Women's downhill final. Getty
Had she been able to deliver a near career-best performance last season, she believes the current decision about her future may have been easier to make.
But with the severity of her injury incomparable to any other she's suffered in the past, Vonn recognised that she still has at least 18 months on the sidelines.
"It's a much different injury in that way, again, like the severity of the injury and understanding that I could have lost my leg and how bad things were," she said, speaking with the Associated Press.
"I can deal with a lot of pain, but this was so extreme. It's not even been in the [same] universe of pain with this injury as what I've had before."
Lindsay Vonn seen at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos Met Gala pre-party. GC Images
Vonn added: "Regardless, nothing would really happen until 2027-28 because I still have one more surgery left to take out the metal and to replace my ACL. That still needs to happen.
"Once I get my ACL fixed, then that's another six months, so I have at least a year and a half ahead of me before I could really be back to 100 per cent, even just training in the gym."
Vonn understands the dangers that come with her returning to the slopes in the future and is also aware that her family does not want her to make a comeback.
But she is hopeful for what her future holds, with her first goal being to walk without crutches for the first time since her crash when she attends the Met Gala.
She was seen walking on crutches into a pre-Met Gala party hosted by Jeff Bezos on Monday (AEST).
