Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Lindsey Vonn thinks her new titanium knee could start a trend in skiing. And pro sports in general

Sport

Lindsey Vonn thinks her new titanium knee could start a trend in skiing. And pro sports in general
Sport

Sport

Lindsey Vonn thinks her new titanium knee could start a trend in skiing. And pro sports in general

2024-12-24 17:43 Last Updated At:18:00

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) — When Lindsey Vonn last raced on the World Cup circuit nearly six years ago, the constant pain in her knee left her in tears and led to retirement.

Flash forward to Vonn’s comeback race on a titanium knee at age 40 last weekend, and the American skiing standout couldn’t have felt more different.

More Images
Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn starts a course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati

United States' Lindsey Vonn starts a course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

No more pain. No more swelling. No more tears.

“The last few years of my career were so much different than they are right now. I’m skiing without thinking about my knee, which I really haven’t done since I first tore my ACL in 2013. So it’s been a long time that I felt this good,” Vonn said Saturday after placing 14th in a super-G in St. Moritz. “I’m a little bit older, but honestly I’m a hell of a lot stronger than I once was.”

So much stronger that she’s talking up her knee replacement surgery — the first of its kind in World Cup skiing — as a new frontier for the sport.

In April, Vonn had a robot-assisted replacement performed by Martin Roche, a South Florida-based orthopedist specializing in complex knee disorders. Part of the bone in her right knee was cut off and replaced by two titanium pieces. A month later, she was planning her comeback.

“It’s a lot better than my non-existent cartilage,” said Vonn, one of the most successful skiers of all time with 82 World Cup wins. “I’ve talked to a lot of skiers already about it and I really think that it could be something that should be considered.

“I feel amazing. I mean, obviously not everyone responds the same way to surgeries. For some reason, I bounce back pretty well from surgery. But I think it’s something to seriously consider for athletes that have a lot of knee problems.”

Andrea Panzeri, the Italian Winter Sports Federation’s head physician and an orthopedist who has operated numerous times on Vonn’s good friend and fellow downhiller, Sofia Goggia, said knee replacements are usually performed on patients older than 50.

“This is definitely the first time in World Cup history that such a young athlete has raced with one," Panzeri told The Associated Press. “And I’m not aware of any other elite-level athletes in other sports competing with one, either.”

Panzeri performs knee replacements. But he had never even thought about doing one on a World Cup skier — until he saw Vonn competing with one.

“Partial prosthetics, like the half-knee ones, are definitely the ones that offer the best performance and we’re seeing that (with Vonn)," Panzeri said. “I don’t think her decision is going to change pro sports. But it could provide more motivation for so-called ‘normal’ people to try a prosthetic."

Three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Andy Murray played with an artificial hip at the end of his career. Vonn’s former skiing teammate Julia Mancuso also redid her hip a few months after she retired in 2018 and maintains an active lifestyle.

“I, for sure, would have considered a comeback if I didn’t have kids," Mancuso told The AP recently. "So I can totally relate to Lindsey.”

But Panzeri said that “hips have different biomechanics than a knee and many more people are able to play sports with a hip prosthetic than a knee prosthetic."

Elan Goldwaser, a sports medicine physician at Columbia University Medical Center who works with the U.S. Ski Team, has seen many athletes come to his clinic for knee replacements but not elite-level competitors.

So, is Vonn’s operation going to be a trend-setter in skiing?

“I wouldn’t say it’s the go-to like in baseball with Tommy John surgery,” Goldwaser said in St. Moritz. “But if it’s necessary, it’s a good procedure to do.”

Chris Knight, Vonn’s personal coach, said they had questions over whether her titanium knee would hold up to the forces required to navigate downhill skiing turns at 80 mph (130 kph) as she hurls herself down steep mountains.

“There was not a lot of research out there with high-level athletes and partial knee replacements," Knight said. “It is a new frontier. But so far everything’s working really well... And I would not be surprised if other people do it because the results that Lindsey’s had, with no pain and no swelling, have been unbelievable.

“Granted, she stayed in great shape the entire time she hasn’t been racing. So, that probably helped. I mean, if you’re sitting around as a non-active skier and not doing anything with your fitness, then maybe it wouldn’t be as effective. But if you’re an athlete who’s got some knee problems, from what I’m seeing, I wouldn’t be saying no to them.”

Vonn’s new knee also left an impression on U.S. Ski Team head coach Paul Kristofic.

“I’m definitely due for one myself,” Kristofic said. “I’m going to talk to her."

Still, there are doubters.

Four-time overall World Cup champion Pirmin Zurbriggen told Swiss tabloid Blick last week that “there is a risk that Vonn will tear her artificial knee to pieces.”

But Panzeri said the titanium does not rupture.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s a small prosthetic that doesn’t break.”

Vonn will race next in St. Anton, Austria, Jan. 11-12.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Sofia Goggia of Italy, left, and Lindsey Vonn of United States of America, talk with journalists after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, smiles after completing an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn starts a course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati

United States' Lindsey Vonn starts a course inspection before competing in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, right, is congratulated by Red Bull Head of Athletes Special Projects Patrick Riml after she competed in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

United States' Lindsey Vonn competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Suspected gang members opened fire on journalists in Haiti's capital on Tuesday as they were covering the attempted reopening of the country's largest hospital, wounding or killing an unknown number of people.

Haiti's interim president, Leslie Voltaire, said in an address to the nation that journalists and police were among the victims of the vicious Christmas Eve attack. He did not specify how many casualties there were, or give a breakdown for the dead or wounded.

“I send my sympathies to the people who were victims, the national police and the journalists,” Voltaire said, pledging “this crime is not going to go unpunished.”

There were concerns there could be fatalities — a video posted online by the reporters trapped inside the hospital showed what appeared to be two lifeless bodies of men on stretchers, their clothes bloodied. One of the men had a lanyard with a press credential around his neck.

Radio Télé Métronome initially reported that seven journalists and two police officers were wounded. Police and officials did not immediately respond to calls for information on the attack.

Street gangs have taken over an estimated 85% of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. They forced the closure of the General Hospital early this year during violence that also targeted the main international airport and Haiti’s two largest prisons.

Authorities had pledged to reopen the facility Tuesday but as journalists gathered to cover the event, suspected gang members opened fire.

Video posted online earlier showed reporters inside the building and at least three lying on the floor, apparently wounded. That video could also not be immediately verified.

Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of a gang coalition known as Viv Ansanm that has taken control of much of Port-au-Prince, posted a video on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.

The video said the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital's reopening.

Haiti has seen journalists targeted before. In 2023, two local journalists were killed in the space of a couple of weeks — radio reporter Dumesky Kersaint was fatally shot in mid-April that year, while journalist Ricot Jean was found dead later that month.

In July, former Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, more widely known as the General Hospital, after authorities regained control of it from gangs.

The hospital had been left ravaged and strewn with debris. Walls and nearby buildings were riddled with bullet holes, signaling fights between police and gangs. The hospital is across the street from the national palace, the scene of several battles in recent months.

Gang attacks have pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse with looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital. The violence has created a surge in patients and a shortage of resources to treat them.

Haiti’s health care system faces additional challenges during the rainy season, which is likely to increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases in the country, according to UNICEF.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Residents walk past cars set on fire by armed gangs in the Poste Marchand neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Residents walk past cars set on fire by armed gangs in the Poste Marchand neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Journalists lie wounded after being shot by armed gangs at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dieugo Andre)

Journalists lie wounded after being shot by armed gangs at the general hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dieugo Andre)

Recommended Articles