Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn has shared a mournful post on social media, providing a glimpse into her mental state as she hopes to recover from an injury in time for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. The 41-year-old sustained a left knee injury after crashing in a downhill event on Friday, January 30, merely a week before the opening ceremonies at Milano Cortina 2026. Since then, Vonn has made several posts on Instagram saying that she’s hopeful for a quick comeback, while she reflects on what her late coach, Erich Sailer, who passed away in August 2025, would be saying to her during her road to recovery.
Vonn reflects on her late coach days after downhill crash
Lindsey Vonn was reflective about the passing of her childhood coach, Erich Sailer, in an Instagram Story posted on Monday, February 2. Accompanied by a photo of Sailer’s gravesite, she wondered what words of advice he would be giving her mere days before the start of the 2026 Olympics.
“I know exactly what he would say….” Vonn wrote along the bottom of the photograph. “Just wish he was here to say it…”
After her coach passed away at the age of 99, she wrote a heartfelt eulogy on Instagram, revealing the profound impact he had on her life. “Erich was more than my ski coach. More than my father’s ski coach. Erich was my family,” she wrote. “My father has known him for 62 years and he has been a part of my life since I was born. There is no doubt that I would not be the person or skier I am today without him.”
“He would want us to be on the mountain, doing what we love to do; ski,” Vonn continued. “Erich… I will try to make my last turns in ski racing fast for you… I will try to make them mean something more than you… I’m so thankful I got to see you this summer. Thankful to hear that belief in me one last time. I will use that when I’m in the starting gate this last season but also for the rest of my life.”
It remains unclear whether Vonn will be able to participate in the downhill and super-G alpine skiing events at the Olympics as originally planned.
On January 30, the gold medal favorite was flying down the the opening section of the Crans Montana event in Switzerland, on a course that is notorious for having difficult conditions and poor visibility, when she misjudged a landing and skidded into the safety nets. Medical staff attended to her immediately, and after several minutes she was able to ski safely down the rest of the course. However, she was seen clutching her left knee as she reached the finish line and entered the medical tent for further evaluation before being airlifted to a nearby hospital.
The injury forced the 41-year-old skier to withdraw from a World Cup super-G race on Saturday. Her head coach, Chris Knight, noted that Vonn is still working toward the Olympic Games, in a statement to the Associated Press. “No, she is not racing today but preparing for Cortina as usual,” he wrote in a text message.
Vonn later confirmed that she would not be able to participate in the super-G race in a separate Instagram post and said that she was “doing my best right now” while thanking fans for their support. After her crash on Friday, she wrote that she would be discussing her injury with her doctors and would be undergoing further exams to evaluate its severity. Vonn stated that she would “give more information when I have it.”
However, at the time of writing, there has been no official update on the expected recovery time for her knee injury, leading to concerns that she would not be ready or fully prepared for the Olympic women’s downhill skiing event that starts on February 10.
