Mikaela Shiffrin escapes serious injury after crash at venue for 2026 Olympics

Mikaela Shiffrin escaped serious injury after a crash during a downhill race at the venue for the 2026 Olympics.

Shiffrin was taken off the mountain by a helicopter, standard protocol at the venue, and then driven to a clinic in Cortina, Italy, where “initial analysis shows the ACL and PCL (in her left knee) seem intact,” U.S. Ski and Snowboard said in a post on X.

Shiffrin responded to the post saying, “Thank you for all your support,” followed by praying hands and heart emojis.

She later posted a photo of herself with a large ice bag on her left knee.

"Very thankful it's not worse, but I'm pretty sore at the moment. I won't be skiing the rest of this weekend, and I won't be skiing in Kronplatz," she wrote, referring to a giant slalom race Tuesday.

"Beyond that, it's quite hard to say right now. Need a little more time to process with my team and see how everything is feeling in the coming days! Thank you all!"

Shiffrin crashed near the top of the Olympia delle Tofane course, which will be used for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026. She was heading into the Tofana schuss, a narrow chute through rock walls that is the signature part of the course, when she hit a patch of soft snow while landing a small jump.

Shiffrin crashed into the safety netting at the edge of the course and was attended to for about 10 minutes. But she was able to stand and limp off, keeping her left boot off the ground and using her poles for support.

Shiffrin was in communication with the rest of the U.S. team while she was being transported to the hospital, telling her teammates, “It’s all OK ladies, surface is money, you got this.”

Three U.S. women finished in the top 20, and Shiffrin gave her teammates a shoutout along with her status update.

"Looking at the results for our speed team today made me smile so much!!" she wrote.

Shiffrin broke Ingemar Stenmark’s record for total World Cup victories last season with her 87th win and has continued to add to it this season. She’s won eight World Cup races, including a slalom last weekend, and has a significant lead in the standings for what would be her sixth overall title.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mikaela Shiffrin avoids serious injury after crash in Cortina, Italy