The month of February has been anything but good to Lindsey Vonn, who began the month with dreams of capturing another Olympic gold medal at the Winter Games in Milan, which began Feb. 6.
However, a week before the Games started, Vonn tore her ACL during a World Cup run in Switzerland. She decided she would still compete, and while she completed two training runs days before her first Olympic event, just seconds into her first official run in Milan, she suffered a horrific crash that resulted in a complex tibia fracture.
She has since undergone several surgeries and was recently cleared to leave the Italian hospital where she had been recovering for several days to return home to the United States.
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As difficult as that stretch has been, the worst news came Wednesday morning when Vonn announced on social media that her dog, Leo, had passed away.
“2013-2/9/2026 Leo has passed away and joined Lucy and Bear up in heaven,” Vonn wrote. “This has been an incredibly hard few days. Probably the hardest of my life. I still have not come to terms that he is gone.
“The day I crashed, so did Leo. He had been recently diagnosed with lung cancer (he survived lymphoma a year and a half ago), but now his heart was failing him. He was in pain and his body could no longer keep up with his strong mind.
“As I laid in my hospital bed the day after my crash, we said goodbye to my big boy. I had lost so much that meant something to me in such a short amount of time. I can’t believe it. My boy has been with me since my second ACL injury, when I needed him most. He held me on the sofa as I watched the Sochi Olympics. He lifted me up when I was down. He laid by me and cuddled me, always making me feel safe and loved. We have been through so much together in 13 years.
“It’s going to be a while before I emotionally process things, but I know he will always be with me. I know he’s up there with Lucy and Bear and my mom and grandparents and so many people I have lost in the past few years. And I take solace knowing he’s not in pain anymore.”
Vonn still has a long road to recovery ahead and will likely undergo additional surgeries now that she’s back in the USA, but it has been a month defined by adversity for the 41-year-old.
That said, she has received an outpouring of unwavering support from her massive fanbase, along with family, friends, and many of her Team USA teammates and coaches over the past two weeks.
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