“That Was a Big One’- Lindsey Vonn’s Physical Therapist Lindsay Winninger Recalls Her Most Horrific Injury

Injuries for athletes are somewhat of a dark necessity. As they push their sport further, they are bound to put themselves in harm’s way. And in a sport like alpine skiing where they hurtle down slopes at speeds that can top 75 miles an hour? It is especially dangerous and the American skier, Lindsey Vonn, can attest to it.

Throughout her career, Vonn has sewn together quite a record of terrible injuries. The most horrifying one, perhaps, was when she broke her arm in November 2016.

Vonn’s crash that broke her arm

In November 2016, some 15 months before the Pyeongchang Olympics, Lindsey Vonn announced that she had suffered yet another injury. While training for the Super G, she crashed and caught her right arm behind her back, fracturing the humerus bone. She claimed that it was the “most painful injury of her career by a long shot.”

Vonn’s longtime physical therapist, Lindsay Winninger, detailed that experience from her perspective. “She looked up at me: ‘Buddy, you’re going to fix this, right? You’ve got this?'” Winninger said. “I confidently said, ‘Yes.’ But at that point in time, I didn’t know if I (could). That was hard from Day One.”

She underwent surgery where doctors had to insert a plate and more than a dozen screws into her arm. The risk of nerve damage was high. Winninger added, “We were putting in almost eight hours a day on that arm, to try and revive the nerve a little bit and get things done as fast as possible. That was a big one.”

READ MORE: Skiing Legend Lindsey Vonn Had the Most Bizarre Plan to Treat Her Injuries Post-Retirement- “I’m Banking on…”

While Vonn is no stranger to physical damage, this one was quite an ordeal even for the Olympic Champion.

Lindsey Vonn: competing through injuries

Fractured tibia, bruised shins, torn ligaments, countless concussions, Lindsey Vonn has seen it all. But the skier has, through incredible endurance, surpassed such obstacles to try and claim titles time and again. She won an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 with a bruised shin.

In the past, she has even claimed that permanent damage to her body is a price she is willing to pay. She said, “I will use my body to the best of my ability until it can no longer function.”

DIVE DEEPER: Legendary Lindsey Vonn Overturned Coaches’ Shocking Prediction on Her Olympic Career

She stood by her words and proved it. Vonn has claimed the World Cup title in all five disciplines of alpine skiing, winning a total of 82 World Cup races in her career. She is one of the greatest American skiers, showing incredible grit and dedication. She retired in 2019, quoting her injuries as the reason.