Lindsey Vonn's unlikely Olympic comeback descended into disaster as her stunned family looked on in disbelief. Forget Miracle on Ice. Vonn was poised to headline the long-awaited sequel, this time on snow, seven years after hanging up her skis.

The 41-year-old had suffered a horrific crash just ten days earlier but still lined up for the prestigious women's downhill, despite carrying a ruptured ACL.

Yet she came crashing down merely 13 seconds into her run, crying out an anguished "oh my God" as the crowd, including her father Alan, watched in stunned silence.

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Whether this pursuit was madness or ego is debatable but nobody can question her courage, as she was airlifted to hospital after receiving treatment on the mountainside for almost 30 minutes.

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"She's in a stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians," said a team spokesman.

Itwas subsequently confirmed that Vonn had undergone surgery on a fractured leg- the same leg in which she had a torn ACL.

Vonn's compulsory safety airbag deployed under her racing suit during the crash, whilst she could be heard shouting that she couldn't get her skis off.

"I know she put her whole heart into it and sometimes things just happen," said sister Karin Kildow. "It's a very dangerous sport and there are a lot of variables at play. I don't really know exactly what happened, but it did look like a pretty rough fall. We're just all hoping for the best."

Vonn's choice to participate in the downhill event was expected by those familiar with her.

Having overcome numerous injuries and surgeries throughout her twenty-year career, she once quipped that she was "part-titanium".

In a pre-race Instagram post, she assured her three million followers: "I will give it everything I have, but no matter what happens, I have already won."

Her comeback to skiing was solely focused on this race, and her recent performances indicated that she was a strong contender.

French snowboarder Pierre Vaultier, who clinched Olympic gold despite a similar injury, suggested she was putting her life at risk. However, her crash wasn't related to her injury, as her pole got entangled in the gate marker while she was mid-air.

American teammate Breezy Johnson secured gold just two years after serving a 14-month suspension for missing three random doping tests within a year.

Johnson herself is no stranger to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. She missed the previous Games in Beijing due to tearing her ACL on the same slope where she triumphed this time.

"Lindsey's coach said she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope for the best for her," she expressed.

"I hope that it's not too bad. My heart aches for her. It's such a brutal sport sometimes.

"I had a good feeling and I can't really believe it yet. I knew I had to push and go harder than I did in training. I couldn't afford to be anything other than clean."

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