It sounds completely absurd to ski race without an ACL, which Lindsey Vonn says she will attempt to do at these Olympics. The ACL is the key ligament in the knee, connecting the thigh to the shin. It provides stability, which is a good thing to have when you are flying down a steep, icy slope at 80 mph.
So what is Vonn doing? In fact, she is doing what many other ski racers have done before.
“The dirty secret is that it happens in skiing, and some people talk about it and some don’t,” said Breezy Johnson, a downhill teammate of Vonn’s.
Even Vonn’s youth coach from Buck Hill in Minnesota has done it.
“I competed for three years with no ACL. Can be done,” said Tony Olin in a text message. “It’s like mechanicals on a car, a broken suspension part … gotta fix it and keep driving.”
Added Johnson: “It’s very easy for doctors to say no, this is impossible. When I tore it before the Olympics, I skied down and I didn’t think I had torn it. It’s hard. It’s not easy. It’s not the safest thing that you can conceive of doing, but it can be done, and it is done.”
From the sounds of Vonn’s determination, it’s going to be done again.