Karin and Laura Kildow, Lindsey Vonn’s younger sisters, held hands before their older sibling entered the starting gate at the Olympic women’s downhill competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Sunday. Along with the rest of the world, they awaited to see if she could pull off the impossible: win an Olympic medal, maybe even a gold, at 41, following not only knee replacement surgery on her right knee, but a ruptured ACL in her left one, which she suffered in a downhill crash a little more than a week ago. Repeat: a week ago.
On Super Bowl Sunday, this high-speed downhill—already the most prestigious race in all of skiing—had become a sort of Super Bowl stand-in at these Olympics. In the second row, Karin wore a black cowboy hat and a Team USA jacket. Laura wore a blue USA beanie. Karin’s left hand clutched Laura’s right one. Karin closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
Their father, Alan Kildow, stood upright by their side. They all knew the risks of this Olympic run, of Vonn’s determination to finish her comeback. Vonn took deep breaths too, and jumped out of the gate, but some 13 seconds into her race, her arm clipped a gate, and she spun and tumbled hard down the course. Karin screamed in horror, and bowed her head. Laura recoiled, and closed her eyes. Alan crossed his arms, stoic for the moment. Soon afterwards, he reached under the left lens of his sunglasses, seeming to wipe away a tear. He bit his bottom lip.
Read more: Inside Lindsey Vonn’s Unprecedented Attempt at an Olympic Comeback
The venue went eerily silent, except for the completely incongruous dance music playing over a loudspeaker. Couldn’t someone make that stop? About a half-dozen emergency personnel attended to Vonn on the mountain. She appeared to clutch her left knee. She screamed. Some ten minutes later, a yellow helicopter flew over the mountain. Vonn was airlifted off the course. The crowd waved to Vonn as she was taken away.
On their way out of the venue, Karin…
