CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn crashed in her final downhill race Friday before the Olympics and was airlifted from the course for medical checks, a troubling turn for the 41-year-old U.S. skiing star just a week before the Milan Cortina Games.
Vonn — the third skier to crash in the World Cup race in Crans-Montana — lost control when landing a jump and ended up tangled in the safety nets on the upper portion of the course.
She got up after receiving medical attention for about five minutes, seemingly in pain and using her poles to steady herself. Vonn then skied slowly to the finish line, stopping a couple of times on the way down and clutching her left knee.
The race, which was held in difficult conditions with low visibility, was canceled after Vonn’s crash.
Ortlieb crashed on top in the same area as Vonn and Monsen hit the nets just before the finish area and had to be taken away in a sled. The race was delayed after both of those crashes. But then two racers — Wiles and Corinne Suter, the Olympic champion, completed their runs.
Wiles barely could make the tight final left-hand turn that had tricked Monsen.
Romane Miradoli of France, who did complete her run as the second to start, said visibility was an issue, with snow falling.
«You can’t see,» Miradoli said, «and it’s bumpy everywhere.»
Asked if it was dangerous, Miradoli added, «We just couldn’t see well.»
Vonn has had numerous crashes in her career. One of her worst was at the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria, during a super-G that was also held in difficult conditions. Vonn then had to be airlifted off the course and tore apart her right knee. She returned the following season, got hurt again and missed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The race started Friday in a subdued mood in Crans-Montana, which is coping with the trauma of a devastating bar fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day that killed 40 people and injured more than 100. A minute’s silence was observed before racing.
The finish area stripped of color and the usual sponsor advertisements. Instead, it had white and black banners featuring a ribbon with the words «Our thoughts are with you» written in French, German, Italian and English.
