Lindsey Vonn has announced that she will not be competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to a devastating right knee injury. She first became injured a year ago while competing at the World Championship, and then re-aggravated it in another crash in November.
Vonn said on her Facebook that she is upset, “but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level.” Her publicist says she is having surgery soon, ESPN reports.
She wrote on her Facebook, though, that this could be looked at in a good light: “On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!”
Vonn was the first woman to take home gold for the USA in downhill during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She is a four-time World Cup champion.
She also dates infamously unfaithful golfer Tiger Woods.