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Lindsey Vonn's decision to compete in Alpine skiing at the Milan Cortina Olympics, despite a torn ACL, is risky but not unexpected, experts in orthopedics and sports medicine said.
"It's not unusual for any elite athlete. People will push through with something that us normal folks wouldn't push through because the stakes are a little higher," said Dr. Catherine Logan, an orthopedic surgeon with the Joint Preservation Center in Denver, Colorado, who has worked with U.S. ski, snowboard and lacrosse teams.
Vonn, who came out of retirement to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at age 41, crashed in a World Cup downhill event in Switzerland on Friday. The damage to her left knee included a "completely ruptured" ACL and bone bruising, "plus meniscal damage," Vonn said Tuesday at a news conference.
After physical therapy and on the advice of doctors, she decided to continue.
"My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday," Vonn said.
By doing so, Vonn risks doing more damage to the knee -- or worse, said Dr. Yana Klein, an emergency and sports medicine specialist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
"She might blow out her knee entirely," Klein said. "At these really high racing speeds, the big risk is that the knee is just not stable enough to compete."
Keystone connection
HARRISBURG -- Seven Pennsylvania residents, including one from Johnstown, will be competing in the upcoming Winter Olympic Games.
Johnstown's Daniel Barefoot will compete in skeleton. Other Pennsylvania athletes include Greensburg's Jasmine Jones (bobsled), Wexford's Ava McNaughton (women's ice hockey), Pittsburgh's Vincent Trocheck (men's ice hockey), Warrington's Andrew Heo (short track speedskating), Glen Rock's Summer Britcher (luge) and Broomall's Taylor Anderson (curling).