Lindsey Vonn didn’t just walk into a hospital for a day to receive a new titanium knee and decide on the way out that she was going to go downhill again.
The process was long, arduous, requiring several minor and a few major interventions, meticulous approval of the medical risks involved, then months of testing on snow in New Zealand, Austria and Colorado, to see how his body and his knee would react at 40 years old.
Now that she’s about to take part in her first World Cup races in six years with the St. Moritz super-Gs this weekend, she’s tired of seeing and hearing criticism from other world champions. skiing which calls into question his return to the most dangerous disciplines at his age.
“I have been thinking about having my knee replaced for several years. I did a lot of research. I know people think I’m crazy. But I’m pretty smart. I’ve had a few surgeries, so I know a few doctors. I spoke to several of them, Vonn argued. I spoke to extreme skier Chris Davenport, who also had a partial knee replacement and skis some 150 days a year. […] It filled me with confidence. »
Vonn got most of her medical advice from Tom Hackett, an orthopedist based in Vail, Colo., who operated on her knees and one arm and is affiliated with the U.S. Ski Team.
“He was my guide in a way. He helped me interview doctors from all over the world to make sure they were on board for the right reasons. Several doctors told me they could cure me and make me better. Usually when it’s the first thing they tell you, it’s probably not true. »
Hackett helped Vonn contact Martin Roche, a South Florida orthopedist who specializes in complex knee injuries. Hackett performed a “prep” procedure in July 2023 to try to delay the need for a knee replacement, in addition to preparing parts of Vonn’s knee for that eventual replacement.
Then, in April, Roche performed a robot-assisted procedure, removing part of the bone in Vonn’s knee and replacing it with two pieces of titanium.
“Once you decide to do something, you have to follow through with it,” Vonn said. Once the incision is made, there is no going back. I have done all the research beforehand to now reap all the benefits. »
Pirmin Zurbriggen suggested that Vonn could “end up with a shattered artificial knee.” Vonn, who holds the mark with 43 World Cup downhill victories, has not received a warm welcome from some big names in skiing.
Double Olympic champion Michaela Dorfmeister suggested that “Vonn should see a psychologist”, adding on Austrian TV: “Is she trying to kill herself? “.
Another Austrian ski great, Franz Klammer, wondered if she had gone completely crazy. Zurbriggen, a four-time overall World Cup champion, fears that if she breaks her artificial knee, she won’t be able to play any sport for the rest of her life.
“I have the impression that she has not realized the meaning of her other life in recent years,” he added in an interview with the Swiss tabloid Blick. She must suffer from no longer being admired. »
After Zurbriggen’s comments were published, Vonn responded on her social media.
“I’m tired of people predicting my future in such a negative way,” she wrote on X Wednesday. Did they all become doctors? Because they talk as if they know more than the best doctors in the world. »
No woman has won a World Cup race after 34 years. Several men, however, have experienced good performance beyond the age of 40. Frenchman Johan Clarey holds the mark for the oldest skier to reach the podium. He finished second in the Kitzbühel downhill at age 42 in January 2023.
“I’m not the first person to do it, I’m maybe the first woman to do it in ski racing. Simone Biles is perhaps the best example of what can be accomplished at an older age, and she’s not old at all,” Vonn said of the gymnast who became the oldest to win the individual all-around. in 75 years by getting his hands on that of the Paris Olympic Games at the age of 27.
“It’s just that it’s outside the scale of what we believe to be the right age for this sport,” Vonn added. I don’t think I’m reinventing the wheel. I only do what I believe is good for me and continue what other women have done before me. »
