Broadcast Quality: Vonn to race at Winter Olympics despite rupturing ACL

VIDEO SHOWS: U.S. OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, AT PRESS CONFERENCE/ INTERVIEWS WITH THE HEAD OF THE SKI FEDERATION, JOHAN ELIASCH AND A SCIENTIST AND EXPERT ON ARTIFICIAL JOINTS/ FILE OF VONN PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A HIGHER-QUALITY VERSION OF 2196-OLYMPICS-2026-ALPINE/USA WHICH WAS PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 3, 2026 SHOWS: CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, ITALY (FEBRUARY 3, 2026)(IOC – Please see script before use) 1. UNITED STATES (U.S.) OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, ENTERING ROOM FOR PRESS CONFERENCE 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, SAYING:     “Last Friday (January 30) in Crans-Montana, in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). I also have bone bruising, which is a common injury when you tear your ACL. Plus meniscal damage, which we're not sure if that was pre-existing or from the crash. But we have been doing extensive therapy, been consulting with doctors, been in the gym and today I went skiing. And considering how my knee feels, it feels stable, I feel strong, my knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday.” 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, SAYING:     “So this is not obviously what I had hoped for. I've been working really hard to come into these games in a much different position. I know what my chances were before the crash and I know my chances aren't the same as it stands today, but I know there's still a chance. And as long as there's a chance, I will try. 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, SAYING:     “Unfortunately, in my career, I've had a lot of challenges. I have always pushed the limits. And in downhill, it's a very dangerous sport, and anything can happen. And because I push the limits, I crash. And I've been injured more times than I would like to admit to myself even. But those are the cards that I've been dealt in my life. And I'm going to play my cards the best that I can. No, life's not perfect.” 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. OLYMPIC SKIER, LINDSEY VONN, SAYING:     “I mean, I'm leaning on everyone on my team. My physical therapists, my doctors, my coaches. My trainer, everyone is working as hard as I can to get me to a place where I feel confident and I'm prepared to ski my best. And of course, you know, what I did today on the hill is not necessarily a great test. I still need to do the downhill training run. But I also know what my knee has felt like with previous injuries in the gym and what it's felt like during all the physical tests. And I can say that I feel a lot better right now than I have in the past. I feel a lot better right now than I did in 2019 for the last World Championships. And I still got a medal there with no LCL and three tibial plateau fractures. So like I said, this is not unknown for me. I've done this before. I wish I wasn't in this position, but this is where I am and I will do the best I can.” 10. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES MILAN, ITALY (FEBRUARY 3, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) 11. HEAD OF THE SKI FEDERATION, JOHAN ELIASCH, BEING INTERVIEWED 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF THE SKI FEDERATION, JOHAN ELIASCH, SAYING:    “It's, I'd say, it's so important. I think this is going to be the biggest event of these games, her performance. If she's in a position to compete, which I, we all pray for every day. I mean, what an outstanding, outstanding comeback. I mean, here you have somebody who retired not two or three years ago, but seven years ago, with a knee that most people can't walk on. And she could easily have hung up her boots and enjoyed life and stopped training like a maniac, and here we are with half a titanium knee. She's come back, not only come back, she's won two races. She probably skis better than ever. And that's just so exciting and fantastic, fantastic showcasing for Alpine winter sport." 13. ELIASCH BEING INTERVIEWED LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MAY 21, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 14. VONN POSING FOR PHOTOS AT NBC MILAN-CORTINA WINTER GAMES EVENT DARTMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 3, 2026)(REUTERS – Access all) 15. (SOUNDBITE)(English) SCIENTIST AND EXPERT ON ARTIFICIAL JOINTS AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, DOUGLAS VAN CITTERS, SAYING:     “My overall reaction is that this is a remarkable athlete to be able to work through an injury like this. There are some individuals who are capable of using their knee in the absence of the ACL and so to be able to rebound from this injury, certainly given her other knee replacement, is truly remarkable.” ST MORITZ, SWITZERLAND (FILE – DECEMBER 10, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 16. VONN ARRIVING AT PRESS CONFERENCE DARTMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 3, 2026)(REUTERS – Access all) 17. (SOUNDBITE)(English) SCIENTIST AND EXPERT ON ARTIFICIAL JOINTS AT DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, DOUGLAS VAN CITTERS, SAYING:     “I think that it all depends on whether or not she has the structure in her knee, the rest of the musculature and ligaments in good enough shape to stabilise the knee during her runs. She is incredibly fit and those structures may still be sufficiently intact to stabilise the knee throughout not only her training day, but then also the competition day that follows.” CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND (FILE – JANUARY 30, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 18. TWO  STILLS OF VONN ON HER SKI RUN 19. VARIOUS (TWO) STILLS OF VONN WINCING AFTER HER INJURY 20. STILLS OF VONN BEING HELPED BY MEDICS AFTER HER INJURY 21. VONN BEING AIRLIFTED AFTER CRASH STORY: Lindsey Vonn said on Tuesday (February 3) she will try and race Sunday's (February 8) women's downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics despite a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), usually a season-ending knee injury, in what she hoped could yet be a comeback against all odds.     The 41-year-old U.S. Alpine ski great and 2010 Olympic champion, revealed for the first time on Tuesday the full extent of her injuries and outlined what she might still achieve after a downhill crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.     "Last Friday in the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL," the downhill World Cup leader told a packed press conference in her opening statement.     She said she had been consulting with doctors, been in the gym and said she had been skiing earlier on Tuesday.     “And considering how my knee feels, it feels stable, I feel strong,” she said.     The first of three official training sessions for the downhill starts on Thursday (February 5) on Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olimpia delle Tofane piste.     A torn ACL usually requires surgery with a recovery time of six to nine months.     Vonn said she would be taking it day-by-day and had yet to decide beyond the downhill.     In Milan, the head of the Ski Federation, Johan Eliasch said he hoped she would he able to compete.     “If she's in a position to compete, which I, we all pray for every day. I mean, what an outstanding, outstanding comeback, he said.     A U.S. musculoskeletal scientist said a race would be extraordinary but not impossible and that elite conditioning and external knee support could allow Vonn to compete.     Douglas Van Citters, a scientist and expert on artificial joints at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, said athletes were capable of functioning without an ACL if surrounding structures are strong enough to stabilise the knee. (Production: Ilze Filks, Iain Axon, Julien Pretot)

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