Former Olympic skier and BBC presenter Chemmy Alcott recently shared about the moment she broke down live on air after Lindsey Vonn’s devastating crash at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Speaking to Iain Martin on The Ski Podcast, Alcott reflected on the accident that ended Vonn’s remarkable comeback story just 13 seconds into the Olympic downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“You shouldn’t put someone’s dreams down”
Working as part of the BBC’s on-site presentation team throughout the Games, Alcott admitted she had never allowed herself to contemplate an outcome other than Vonn reaching the finish.
“I knew two years ago when she made the decision to come back that the only reason she was making that decision was for this one-minute 45-second run in Cortina,” Alcott said.
“She opened herself up to a huge amount of judgement. People were saying, ‘What is she doing? She’s got a knee replacement. This is dangerous.’ But until you know someone and you’re in their head, you shouldn’t put their dreams down.”
After recovering from a serious knee injury suffered just weeks before the Olympics, Vonn arrived in Cortina having reignited hopes with impressive training performances.
“She was competitive,” Alcott said. “I could see she wasn’t quite as strong on her left side, but she was still fast. We all thought, ‘This is the story of the Games.'”
“It happened because she chose to take a winning line”
Then came the crash.
“We watched, holding our breath for 13 seconds,” Alcott recalled.
“The 13 seconds she did ski showed the bravery and confidence to take a line that nobody else had skied. She was loading that left leg completely different to the training runs. She was taking the winning line.”
Alcott rejects suggestions that the crash was simply the result of Vonn’s previous knee injury.
“I had a lot of arguments with fellow broadcasters who were saying, ‘This happened because of her knee.’ No, it happened because she chose to take a winning line. She was going for gold.”
“We heard the screams travelling down the valley”
From the finish area, the atmosphere quickly changed from anticipation to disbelief.
“What we heard first were the screams travelling down the valley. That was horrendous.
“There was this strange clapping from the crowd, almost willing her to get up. I’ve only experienced an atmosphere like that once before, when Aleksander Aamodt Kilde crashed in Wengen. It was the same awful silence.”
As television pictures focused on the rescue operation, Alcott was asked by BBC producers whether she was ready to go live.
“They gave me the choice,” she said. “‘Are you ready?’ And I said yes, because this story needed to be told.
“I was willing to go on crying. I was willing to share what everyone was feeling.
“I was embarrassed afterwards because you don’t often see live television presenters lose control of their emotions. But looking back, I think it made it more relatable. I showed what everybody at home was feeling.”
“Without him, she would have had her leg amputated”
Alcott also revealed a detail that only emerged after the accident.
“Her surgeon, who she’d flown over from America, happened to be at the start gate with her. Normally it would be the team doctor who goes in the helicopter.
“She chose to have her surgeon there and was given permission. In the end, having him there saved her leg. Without him there, she would have had her leg amputated.”
Despite the life-changing injuries Vonn suffered, Alcott believes the American’s determination has not disappeared.
When asked by host of The Ski Podcast, Iain Martin, if she thought Vonn would ski again, Alcott did not rule it out.
“If she can enjoy skiing again, that would be one of the greatest demonstrations of resilience imaginable.
“Racing again is a completely different question because of the risk. But it’s her body, it’s her choice.
“Lindsey loves ski racing. She came back because she loved it, even when she wasn’t winning. That says everything about who she is.”
You can listen to the full interview in Episode 318 of The Ski Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.