*This content was translated by AI.
Lindsey Vonn (42), the "ski legend" who suffered a horrific injury at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, appeared at an airport relying on a wheelchair.
The UK's BBC reported on the 26th (local time) that "Vonn, who complained of extreme fatigue, was spotted moving around Los Angeles (LA) airport in a wheelchair."
That day, Vonn, with no makeup on, was seated in a wheelchair wearing comfortable black clothing. She had crutches and a Louis Vuitton bag worth $4,000 (approximately 5.9 million won) placed on her lap, while an airport staff member pushed the wheelchair.
The media explained that "although Vonn recently showed surprising recovery by training at a gym and appearing to walk on her own, she still requires a wheelchair for long-distance travel."
On February 9, Vonn participated in the Olympic alpine skiing downhill event at the Toppan Alpine Ski Center in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. She fell just 13 seconds after the start and was urgently airlifted by helicopter. She had suffered a severe compound fracture of her left leg. It was a tragedy that occurred after she was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) just before the competition but insisted on competing despite the injury.
The surgery process was gruesome. Immediately after the first surgery, Vonn developed compartment syndrome, where pressure inside her muscles rose due to bleeding, putting her at risk of limb amputation. Doctors raced against time to prevent the worst-case scenario. After shuttling between Italy and the United States and undergoing a total of five major surgeries, Vonn was finally able to return to her home in Utah on March 1, about a month after the accident.
More than physical pain, it was mental isolation that tormented her. In a recent interview with People magazine, Vonn revealed, "I lay alone in the hospital for two and a half weeks and suffered from depression. It was too difficult to be 100% dependent on someone."
The wave of criticism directed at her also pushed her to the brink. Netizens, many of whom did not even understand skiing, poured out their condemnation for her decision to compete with a torn ACL.
Vonn confessed, "Being isolated on my hospital bed, cut off from the outside world, and reading people's reactions on my smartphone was painful. Sometimes I couldn't hold back my anger and even engaged in direct arguments with trolls on Twitter."
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*This content was translated by AI.
