ROME, April 4, 2026 — Lindsey Vonn has not decided whether to retire after the horrific injury that ended her Olympic medal dream, and she is already in rehabilitation after several surgeries. The crash, which followed a fall in Crans Montana a few days before the Olympics and then the injury on the Olympia delle Tofane, left her leg holding up but forced her out of the fight she had been building toward.
Aksel Svindal said Vonn needs medical care more than coaching right now, adding that she is already much better and that he is sure everything will be fine. He said she has had some difficult days, but is returning to normal, even in spirit, and he noted that he has been through that kind of setback before.
The timeline matters because the injury cut across what had looked like the right comeback route. Before the crashes stopped her, Vonn’s run had been strong: Svindal helped bring her back to the top with two victories in St. Moritz and Zauchensee, and she had podium finishes in the other races. The rehabilitation will be long, but Vonn has left open the possibility of returning to the track.
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That is why the talk around her future has not settled into a clean retirement announcement, even as many around the sport assume that could be the next step. Vonn has not made a decision yet, and the gap between recovery and any final call remains wide enough to matter. The next season is expected to begin in October with the giants of Solden, which leaves time for both treatment and a decision.
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Svindal, meanwhile, is facing his own decision. He said he has spoken to Norway about joining the sprint team, but the amount of travel would clash with his family commitments. He said the choice to coach Vonn was made together with his wife, citing their three-year-old child, and added that he will also discuss his future with her. For now, his message is simple: Vonn is healing, her comeback is not formally over, and the hardest part may be deciding what comes after recovery.
