Lindsey Vonn has declared her season over in what she called one of the toughest decisions of her Alpine skiing career.
The 31-year-old said in a statement on her Facebook page that scans on a hairline fracture in her left knee had shown it was far more serious than thought and further damage “could result in a serious surgery that would risk my future in ski racing”.
The American won a record 20th World Cup trophy last month when she clinched the downhill crown. She has won 76 World Cup races and has been chasing the Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark’s record of 86 as well as a fifth overall World Cup crown. She currently leads Switzerland’s Lara Gut by 28 points in the overall standings.
Despite fracturing her left knee in a super-G crash on Saturday, Vonn had set the fastest time in the first run of the women’s World Cup combined event in Andorra on Sunday. After her run, she posted a tweet saying: “No one can ever call me a wimp”.
Before Sunday’s race, Vonn had said on her Facebook page: “Drained my knee a few times and it’s feeling a little better. Going to go up on the hill and see how it feels.”
Vonn’s start to this season had been delayed after her continued recovery from reconstructive surgery on her right knee. She won her World Cup downhill comeback at Lake Louise in December, her first victory since January, 2013, in Maribor, Slovenia, two months before she injured her knee at the world championships.
She tried to get back in time for the Sochi Games but partially tore one of the reconstructed ligaments in a training crash in Copper Mountain, Colorado, three months before the Olympics.
Vonn attempted another comeback, only to sprain her medial cruciate ligament racing a downhill in France in December 2014. A month later she had a second surgery.
In her lengthy statement on Wednesday, she said: “Today I am making the difficult decision to end my season and leave the World Cup circuit due to an injury I suffered last Saturday. Because I am currently leading the Overall World Cup standings, this is one of the toughest decisions of my career.
“When I crashed on Saturday in Andorra, I fractured my tibial plateau.  The traditional X-rays that were taken that afternoon showed a hairline fracture, but the tibial plateau appeared to be stable and did not pose significant risk to competing. So I raced on Sunday. After the Super Combined on Sunday, I went to Barcelona where more precise MRI and CT equipment was available and scans were performed on Tuesday morning.
“Those images showed that there was not just 1 hairline fracture, but in fact 3. And the fractures are not hairline, but instead they are significant enough that they are not sufficiently stable to permit me to safely continue skiing. Further damage any of the fragments could result in a serious surgery that would risk my future in ski racing. With the world championships in St Moritz next year and the Winter Olympics in South Korea the following year, I cannot take that risk.
“So I have made the decision to end my season. I am very proud of what I have been able to accomplish this year: 9 World Cup victories, breaking the World Cup downhill win record, breaking the World Cup Super G podium record, and winning the most World Cup discipline titles--20--of any skier, male or female.
“While I am confident that I’m making the right decision, it still doesn’t make this decision any easier. Thanks to everyone who supported me and stood by me through it all. Best of luck to all the World Cup competitors. I’ll see you again next year. Xo LV.”