CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — U.S. ski great Lindsey Vonn was flown to a hospital after her bold bid to win Olympic downhill gold with a ruptured ACL ended in a horrific crash after 13 seconds on Sunday.

A helicopter took the 41-year-old to a hospital in Treviso, a source told Reuters, after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit slope.

“Lindsey sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians,” the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team said in a statement after the Sunday crash.

It was the second time in nine days that she was airlifted off a mountain. She crashed in a World Cup race in Switzerland on Jan. 30 and suffered the ACL tear.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite her knee injury dominated the opening days of the Milan Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the injured left knee, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favorite ski runs on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medalist in the Vancouver Olympics and the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, Vonn appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barrelled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

The helicopter took Vonn initially to Cortina’s Codivilla Putti Hospital for a medical assessment.

“The medical team responded immediately and the intervention time was excellent,” the International Olympic Committee said.

The crash left the other skiers shaken.

“My heart goes out to her,” said Breezy Johnson, her U.S. teammate who won the first American medal of the Games. She had skied before Vonn, and her time held up as the other skiers attempted to better it.

“When you love the course so much and it hurts you like that, it hurts even more.”

Vonn had been hoping to become the oldest Alpine skiing Olympic medallist after winning two World Cup downhills this year and finishing on the podium in the other three.

Double Olympic gold medalist Tina Maze, working the race on TV for Eurosport, said Vonn had risked too much in her run.

“Of course if you’re not healthy then the consequences are even worse, but we know all Lindsey,” she said. “It’s her decision that she wanted to do this no matter what.

“It’s really tough for everyone here to see this and especially for her family and her teammates and everyone working with her. I mean it’s terrible.”

Vonn’s sister, Karin Kildow, said she Lindsey put her “whole heart” into racing at the Olympics, especially as it was being staged on a course she loves so much.

“That’s definitely the last thing we wanted to see,” she told NBC. “When that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s OK, and it was scary.”

“She dared greatly, and she put it all out there.”

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Sidney Crosby will serve as the captain of Team Canada at the Milan Cortina Olympics, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced on Sunday.

Crosby, 38, is no stranger to holding that role, as he previously served as the captain of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Sochi Games. The Pittsburgh Penguins superstar forward famously scored the golden goal in overtime to defeat the United States in the gold-medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Edmonton Oilers star forward Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche standout defenseman Cale Makar will serve as alternate captains for Canada in Milan.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and it is an honor to be named captain of Canada’s men’s hockey team, which has so many great players and leaders,” Crosby said in a statement. “Connor and Cale, along with our entire group, provide incredible leadership, and I am happy to represent Canada together on the same team. We are all proud to wear the Maple Leaf and compete with Team Canada in Milan.”

Canada begins play against Czechia on Thursday in Group A of the preliminary round.

–Field Level Media

Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun on Sunday was named to replace injured Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Team World for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

The selection of Sengun, 23, was made by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The All-Star Game will take place next Sunday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Sengun, of Turkey, earned his second consecutive All-Star selection after averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and a career-high 6.3 assists in 44 games (all starts) this season.

Gilgeous-Alexander, of Canada, is nursing an abdominal injury that has forced him to miss consecutive games heading into a road contest against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA MVP and NBA Finals MVP last season, has been named an All-Star in four consecutive seasons.

–Field Level Media