Lindsey Vonn Reveals Her Ankle Is ‘Still Broken’ 5 Months After Horrific Olympics Injury (Exclusive)

The skier’s leg was shattered after a crash during an Olympic downhill event in February

NEED TO KNOW Lindsey Vonn is still recovering from a severe skiing accident that left her with major injuries after the 2026 Winter Olympics She spent more than three months unable to walk unassisted, and recently shared her progress on Instagram Vonn says her recovery has been slow, but she is regaining strength both mentally and physically Lindsey Vonn is getting candid about her recovery journey following a downhill skiing accident at the 2026 Winter Olympics. On the red carpet for the ESPYS outside the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday, July 15, the skier, 41, revealed in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that her healing process, while progressing, is still ongoing.

“It’s been a very slow process,” Vonn says. “It’s been five months since I’ve been able to actually go to the gym in a somewhat meaningful way. And walking is actually still really hard for me.

My ankle is still broken.” Vonn’s accident took place 13 seconds into her run in the women’s downhill final during the 2026 Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, after she lost control and flipped through the air during her fall on Feb. 8. She was quickly placed on a stability board and airlifted by helicopter to a hospital from the course, and the impact left her suffering from a complex tibia fracture and a torn ACL.

Just over a week before her crash, Vonn had “completely ruptured” her ACL while competing in a World Cup race, she said in a press conference several days after the event. Now, she is grateful to be standing once again. “I was in a wheelchair for so long, I was on crutches for so long,” Vonn tells PEOPLE at the ESPYS.

She adds, “It was honestly almost three and a half months that I was unable to walk unassisted. I got very emotional when I was able to walk on my own.” Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE’s free sports newsletter — sign up now!

Earlier this week, Vonn reflected on her five months of recovery in an Instagram reel, where she shared progressive footage of her working toward standing and eventually squatting with a medicine ball. “I knew one day I’d get here, just didn’t know how long it would take me,” Vonn’s caption read. “It took 5 months, but I’m finally here!

Still a very long road ahead but my strength is coming back 💪🏻 (maybe more mentally than physically still but that’s not a bad thing ;)” Read the original article on People