Lindsey Vonn said she was “disappointed” in the reaction some racers had after the women’s World Cup downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland was cancelled after several racers did not finish and Vonn was injured on her run.
A defiant Vonn told reporters Tuesday during a press conference in Corina, Italy, that she still will be competing in the Olympics despite tearing her ACL, but she was clearly bothered by what some of her peers had been caught saying on a hot mic last week in Switzerland after she had been injured.
Following the decision by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and organizers to cancel the race due to “adverse conditions,” several skiers had been caught on a hot mic visibly frustrated by the decision.
One racer could even be heard saying “some athletes count more than others.”
“I have to say I was disappointed,” Vonn said about the comments after taking a moment to answer the question. “I thought it was poor sportsmanship from a lot of people that I care about. Anytime that athletes are injured or crash, it’s not good. When FIS or the organizers say that it’s not safe, we as racers have to trust that. Yes, I know there are high emotions and everyone has worked very hard to be in a position to compete in that moment and it’s sometimes hard to contain those emotions, but I was deeply hurt by what was said. Some people apologized to me and I appreciated that and I accepted their apology, but I think in general, it was disappointing to hear what was said. Especially on live television.”
A clip of the comments was posted on Instagram and Vonn reacted in the comments, writing “sportsmanship?”
Vonn did not say who had reached out to her specifically to offer an apology following the incident.
The American skier revealed Tuesday that she had completely ruptured her ACL.
Vonn has not competed in the Olympics since 2018 in PyeongChang when she won bronze in the downhill.
The Olympian, who captured gold in 2010, said that she is taking her training “day by day” and that her “goal right now is obviously the downhill.”
“I have to see how it feels. If it’s stable and I feel confident, I’ll continue to race, that is my goal, obviously, but I can’t tell you that answer until I actually ski 85 miles per hour and then I’ll tell you,” Vonn told reporters Tuesday.