2014 Winter Olympics: Lindsey Vonn announces she will not compete due to injury

Two-time Olympic medalist Lindsey Vonn announced on Tuesday that she will not compete at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi due to setbacks in her recovery from an ACL tear that she suffered in November.

“I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi,” Vonn said in a statement released via Facebook. “I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level.”

Vonn, 29, made her Olympic debut at age 17 when she competed in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but finished no better than sixth in two events. After a similarly unsuccessful 2006 Winter Olympics, Vonn broke through with three consecutive overall World Cup titles and the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Games, as well as the bronze in Super-G.

At the 2013 World Championships in February, Vonn suffered a torn ACL, MCL and a fracture in her tibia. She set November as a target return date, but suffered further setbacks in her knee when she partially tore the ACL in her surgically-repaired knee during a training accident.

Vonn said that she does not intend to retire and hopes to be ready to compete in the 2015 World Championships that are set to be hosted in February 2015.

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