Lindsey Vonn is putting the “cover” in recovery.
The Alpine skiing legend, 41, landed the latest cover of Vanity Fair just weeks after a devastating crash at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics nearly cost her her left leg. Shot by photographer Quil Lemons at her home in Park City, Utah, Vonn posed in a black dress slit high up her thigh, putting her bandaged leg front and center.
For the cover, Vonn wore a Mônot high slit T-neck gown ($1,295) and a Rolex watch. Inside, she slipped into a similarly leg-baring dress, this time a halter style by Akris.
Vonn was just 13 seconds into her downhill run on Feb. 8 when her arm caught a gate, sending her hurtling down the course and shattering her tibia, fibula and ankle. She was airlifted off the mountain by helicopter as the world watched.
The injuries were so severe that Vonn nearly lost her left leg to compartment syndrome, a dangerous condition where pressure builds in the leg and cuts off blood flow. Her doctor performed emergency surgery in the middle of the night at a hospital in Treviso, Italy, to save the limb.
“I was number one in the world, and potentially on my way to an Olympic medal,” Vonn told Vanity Fair. “Now I’m in a wheelchair.”
Vonn underwent multiple surgeries on her shattered leg before returning home in early March. She now spends her days in physical therapy and daily hyperbaric chamber sessions.
In an accompanying video for the magazine, Vonn read messages of support from the likes of Prince William, Cristiano Ronaldo and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
A letter from the Prince of Wales praised Vonn’s courage and resilience. “I didn’t expect that Prince William was watching me, let alone took the time to write me a letter,” Vonn said with a laugh, adding that she offered to take him and his family skiing — “maybe in a while, but at some point.”
The three-time Olympic medalist had come out of retirement in November 2024 at 40 years old — becoming the oldest World Cup downhill winner in history — and was first in the downhill standings heading into the Games. She raced at Cortina despite tearing her ACL just nine days earlier at a World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
“I don’t want people to hang on this crash and be remembered for that,” Vonn told the magazine. “What I did before the Olympics has never been done before.”
Read the full article here
