Lindsey Vonn’s bold pursuit of another Olympic downhill title at age 41 came to a sudden and frightening end Sunday, when the American star crashed just seconds into her run and suffered a broken leg.

Racing on a rebuilt right knee and a badly injured left one, Vonn lost control almost immediately after leaving the start house. She clipped a gate with her right shoulder, cartwheeled down the slope and landed awkwardly on her back, her skis tangled beneath her. Her screams echoed across the course as medical staff rushed in, and a heavy silence settled over the crowd gathered at the finish.

Vonn lay on the snow for several tense minutes before being secured to a gurney and airlifted from the mountain, the second time in nine days she has been taken away by rescue helicopter. The crash raised fresh questions about whether it marked the end of one of skiing’s most decorated careers.

She was first taken to a clinic in Cortina before being transferred to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso, about two hours south. The hospital said Vonn was treated by a multidisciplinary medical team and underwent orthopedic surgery to stabilize a fracture in her left leg.

The U.S. Ski Team said Vonn was in stable condition and receiving care from a team of American and Italian doctors.

"She’ll be OK, but it’s going to be a bit of a process,” said Anouk Patty, chief of sport for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. "This sport’s brutal, and people need to remember when they’re watching that these athletes are throwing themselves down a mountain and going really, really fast.”

Breezy Johnson, Vonn’s teammate, became only the second American woman to win the Olympic downhill, matching Vonn’s feat from 16 years earlier. The 30-year-old Johnson held off Germany’s Emma Aicher and Italy’s Sofia Goggia on a bittersweet day for the team.

"I don’t claim to know what she’s going through, but I do know what it is to be here, to be fighting for the Olympics, and to have this course burn you and to watch those dreams die,” said Johnson, whose injury in Cortina in 2022 ruined her hopes of competing at the Beijing Olympics. "I can’t imagine the pain that she’s going through. It’s not the physical pain, because we can deal with that. The emotional pain is something else.”

Vonn had family in the stands, including her father, Alan Kildow, who stared down at the ground while his daughter was being treated after just 13 seconds on the course where she owns a record 12 World Cup victories. Others in the crowd, including rapper Snoop Dogg, watched quietly as the star skier was finally taken off the course. Fellow American Mikaela Shiffrin posted a broken-heart emoji on social media.

Vonn’s crash was "tragic, but it’s ski racing,” said Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.

"I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport,” he said. "This race has been the talk of the Games, and it’s put our sport in the best possible light.”

All eyes had been on Vonn, the feel-good story heading into the Olympics. She returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years away, a remarkable decision given her age and a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee. Many wondered how she would fare as she chased another gold medal to add to the one she won in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The four-time overall World Cup champion stunned observers by becoming a contender almost immediately. She arrived at the Olympics leading the World Cup downhill standings and was considered a gold medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland nine days earlier, when she suffered her latest knee injury. In addition to a ruptured ACL, she also sustained a bone bruise and meniscus damage.

Still, few counted her out. Vonn has skied through injuries for three decades at the top of the sport. In 2006, ahead of the Turin Olympics, she took a hard fall during downhill training and was hospitalized, then competed less than 48 hours later in all four events she had planned, finishing as high as seventh in the super-G.

Cortina has long been a special place for Vonn beyond her record wins. Known as the "queen of Cortina,” she has always suited the Olympia delle Tofane course. She tested her knee twice in downhill training runs over the previous three days before Sunday’s crash in clear, sunny conditions.

"This would be the best comeback I’ve done so far,” Vonn said before the race. "Definitely the most dramatic.”

The drama took a different turn. Not since Hermann Maier’s violent crash at the 1998 Nagano Games had there been such a high-profile and spectacular fall in Olympic alpine skiing.

"Dear Lindsey, we’re all thinking of you,” International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said. "You are an incredible inspiration and will always be an Olympic champion.”

News of the crash spread quickly, including to the fan zone down the mountain in Cortina.

"It’s such a huge loss and a bummer,” said American fan Megan Gunyou. "Hearing her story and the redemption after her first fall, fighting to come back to the Olympics, it’s just heartbreaking.”

Dan Wilton of Vancouver, Canada, watched from the stands.

"It was frightening,” he said. "Your heart goes out to a champion coming toward the end of her career. Everyone wanted a successful finish.”