Lindsey Vonn says “ride was worth the fall” after fourth surgery for broken leg, set to return to U.S.

American skier Lindsey Vonn announced Saturday that her latest surgery was successful, and that she has been cleared to return to the United States after breaking her left leg in a brutal crash last weekend during her opening downhill race at the Winter Olympics in Italy. 

“Surgery well well today!” the 41-year-old Vonn wrote on social media. This marks her fourth surgery since the Feb. 8 crash. 

Vonn had said Friday she would need at least two more surgeries — the one Saturday and a second after she returns to the U.S. 

On Wednesday, Vonn disclosed she had already undergone three surgeries since experiencing the injury. She wrote Saturday that once she’s back in the U.S., she plans on giving “more updates and info about my injury.” 

The Olympic veteran from Colorado also reflected on her crash, saying, “I don’t have regrets.” 

“The ride was worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night I don’t have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains,” Vonn said in her post. “I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will.”

Vonn crashed just seconds into the first run of her Olympic downhill race. She was competing despite rupturing her left ACL in a different crash during a World Cup race in the Swiss Alps last month.

“I was willing to risk and push and sacrifice for something I knew I was absolutely capable of doing,” Vonn said in the post. “I will always take the risk of crashing while giving it my all, rather than not ski to my potential and have regret.” 

The three-time Olympic medalist had come out of retirement to compete in the Milan Cortina Games. After tearing her ACL, she had said she felt confident she could still race with the help of a knee brace.

“Please, don’t be sad,” Vonn said. “Empathy, love and support I welcome with an open heart, but please not sadness or sympathy. I hope instead it gives you strength to keep fighting, because that is what I am doing and that is what I will continue to do. Always.”