02/21/2026
I’ve been asked quite a bit on the Lindsey Vonn situation, so I figure I’ll post my response here.
First, yes, you CAN ski without an ACL(s). The best way I can describe it is that the ACL is like a seatbelt in a car. Your seatbelt is your secondary, emergency restraint. You primary restraint is your brakes (muscles). When you run, jump, cut, or decelerate, the ACL slows and stops you from flying through the windshield, keeping your knee stable and intact.
That being said, you can absolutely still drive a car without a seatbelt on. But I sure wouldn’t recommend doing so at interstate speeds.
With proper bracing and taping, it’s possible to re-create a makeshift external ACL, which is exactly what they did for her. So to answer the questions:
1. Can you ski without an ACL? Yes, skiing and other sports can be played at a high level with a damaged or missing ACL. Lindsey is merely one of many many world class athletes to do this. I don’t think many people realize this.
2. Should she have gone for it? I think it’s hard to describe and fathom all the time, effort, and life sacrifices it takes to be a highly decorated Olympian. Lindsey Vonn has negotiated with the laws of physics for two decades now. She’s been hurt many times before, and she came out of retirement for this. These games were supposed to be her last bit of competition to cap off a legendary career. I don’t blame her one bit for wanting to go for it.
3. But wasn’t it selfish for her to take another athlete’s spot? Athletes compete. And they compete for spots. I wouldn’t expect any athlete, high level or not, to give up their spot freely. That’s competition. If Lindsey wanted a spot, somebody else needed to earn it over her. And by the way, Lindsey was consistently finishing 3rd out of the 5 USA skiers in the practice runs. I don’t care who’s hurt or who is the oldest. I don’t want my 3rd best athlete being replaced by my 6th best.
4. Lastly, I don’t think it was up to Lindsey. This is why we have coaches and other people that decide who’s on the team.
What happened to Lindsey was worst case scenario. I don’t think her injury was related to the crash, but it’s certainly possible. As of this writing, she’s gone through her 5th surgery since the crash.
Yes, there were big risks allowing her to go. They rolled the dice, and knew the consequences. I don’t think anyone regrets going for it. Hindsight is 20/20, but there’s no question that Linsey could’ve won another medal, and I’m confident team USA had their best chances to win with her, even without one ACL.
Lastly, let’s take a moment to say this woman is an absolute warrior. I’m personally not a big fan of her outside her sport, but I hope we can all agree that we need more tough as nails women like her in many ways.
What happened was highly unfortunate. I don’t think anyone did anything wrong given the context. Those saying she got what she deserved need a kick in the shins.
