Lindsey Vonn has shared that she suffered a second personal heartbreak a day after crashing out of the Winter Olympics. The athlete lay injured in a hospital bed in Italy when she received the news that her beloved dog, Leo, had passed away back home in the US.
In a post on Instagram announcing her 13-year-old pet’s death, Lindsey, 41, wrote: "Leo has passed away and joined Lucy and Bear up in heaven. This has been an incredibly hard few days. Probably the hardest o[f] life. I still have not come to terms that he is gone…"
On the day that Lindsey was rushed to hospital after trying to compete in the women’s downhill event on a torn ACL, she said that Leo had been starting to experience heart failure following a recent lung cancer diagnosis. Tragically, he passed away the next day back home in Minnesota, with her recovering thousands of miles away.
Lindsey, who shared a carousel of pictures of Leo, continued: "He was in pain and his body could no longer keep up with his strong mind. I had lost so much that meant something to me in such a short amount of time. I can't believe it.
"My boy has been with me since my second ACL injury, when I needed him most. He held me on the sofa as I watched the Sochi Olympics. He lifted me up when I was down. He [laid] by me, and cuddle[d] me, always making me feel safe and loved. We have been through so much together in 13 years."
The star alpine ski racer, who returned to the US after multiple operations on her leg, received more than 490,000 'likes' on her post. Reese Witherspoon and Olivia Munn were two of those to comment that they were "so sorry" for her loss.
Lindsey added: "It's going to be a while before I emotionally process things but I know he will always be with me. I know he's up there with…my mom and grandparents and so many people I have lost in the past few years. And I takes solace knowing he's not in pain anymore." Her mother passed away in 2022.
The sportswoman revealed that she would be "thinking of him when I close my eyes" as she headed in for more surgery on her injury. She was the Olympic downhill champion in 2010 and had been hoping to end on a high at the same event in 2026.
