Stay Updated on Developing Stories

American skier Lindsey Vonn suffers hairline knee fracture in crash

Story highlights
  • The Audi FIS Ski World Cup event in Andorra was delayed several hours by strong snow, winds
  • When it resumed, Lindsey Vonn crashed near the end of her run; she was taken off via sled
  • The American skier has a history of injuries, including an ACL/MCL tear in late 2013

(CNN) Lindsey Vonn has had her share of ups and downs on the ski slopes.

What happened Saturday definitely qualifies as the latter.

The American ski star was evacuated off the slope by sled after crashing about 50 seconds of the way through what would have been roughly a minute run during a super-G event in Andorra. The U.S. ski team noted that Vonn had the best time at the FIS Ski World Cup event in Soldeu-el Tarter when she went down.

"She was taken off the mountain on a sled by ski patrol for evaluation," the U.S. Ski Association said in a statement. "She is presently being evaluated to determine if she sustained any injuries."

Vonn later confirmed that she had suffered a hairline fracture of her left knee.

"Got caught in the soft snow today and crashed pretty hard. X-rays showed I have a hairline fracture in my left knee and will get an MRI on Monday," Vonn wrote in a post to her Instagram account.

But despite the injury, she did not rule out competing in Sunday's super combined race at the same venue.

"I will wait and see how I feel tomorrow to decide if I can race. Will keep you updated."

Got caught in the soft snow today and crashed pretty hard. X-rays showed I have a hairline fracture in my left knee and will get an MRI Monday. I will wait and see how I feel tomorrow to decide if I can race. Will keep u updated. Thx for all of the support and well wishes. Means a lot! Also congrats to my teammate @lalalaurenne on 2nd place today!

Vonn is 31 years old and already has an extensive injury history, like the torn ACL/MCL and fractured tibial plateau she suffered during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2013.

Vonn pushed hard to come back, according to her U.S. ski team bio, only to be derailed by a training crash the following November and more knee troubles in months to come that kept her out of the 2014 Olympics, her official U.S. ski team bio notes.

Yet the Minnesota native since has come back strong.

Entering this weekend, she led all others in the contest for alpine skiing's World Cup -- outpacing Switzerland's Lara Gut with 1,215 points, which is nearly 400 more than Viktoria Rebensburg in third place.

Vonn hasn't been only made her mark on the slopes. She's also been in the news for dating golf great Tiger Woods and, more recently, for posing only in body paint for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The start of Saturday's super G event in Andorra was delayed several hours due to strong winds and snowfall.

It was eventually won by Federica Brignone of Italy with U.S. skier Laurenne Ross finishing second.

Read: Vanessa Mae cleared of race-fixing claims

Read: Skiing's pin-up girl still self conscious

Outbrain