American gold medal Alpine skier Lindsey Vonn sat down for an exclusive interview with Matt Lauer on TODAY Monday morning to discuss her recovery from a surgery to repair two knee ligaments following a devastating crash at the world championships earlier this month.
“I struggled definitely the first few days after the injury,” Vonn told Lauer. “Right now my goal is to be back for 2014 in Sochi. Honestly, in a worst-case scenario, if I trained a week before the Games, I’d be fine.”
It had been a tough season already for Vonn, who was sidelined for weeks with an intestinal illness and fatigue. Still, she managed to score six World Cup victories and be back in top form for worlds. But a bad landing on opening day sent her tumbling down the mountain in Schladming, Austria.
“I just went off the jump, flew too far, and landed in a pile of snow that hadn’t been cleared away,” she said. “It essentially stopped my feet on impact, and my knee just completely buckled.”
Vonn tore her right ACL and MCL and and suffered a tibial plateau fracture during her final run on the super-G course. But while she could be heard screaming in pain, Vonn says she “didn’t think it was going to be the end of my career.”
Vonn posted a grisly picture of her knee on Facebook last week, while joking about her fancy crutches and having to wear long skirts all summer. She’s already rehabbing with two one-hour sessions each day and promises to be ready in time next year’s Winter Olympics.
“I feel like I have a lot more left to do. I have plenty of time to be ready for Sochi.”
