Aiming for an Olympic gold medal in the “knee-free” Queen of the Games is a bit of the incredible challenge that Lindsey Vonn is taking on this Sunday (11:30 a.m.) at the Milan-Cortina Games. Doctor in sports science, specialist in biomechanics, Jean-Bernard Fabre is admiring the mentality of the American, 3rd in the last training session on Saturday, but considers the challenge very risky.
How can Lindsey Vonn envisage an Olympic descent with a prosthetic knee on one side, without cruciate ligaments on the other?
JEAN-BERNARD FABRE. That’s a great question. The first point concerns his prosthesis. There are several types and several surgical techniques but, as a general rule, a knee prosthesis does not prohibit anyone from skiing even if their name is not Lindsey Vonn. The question about it is that we are talking about very high level skiing in extreme conditions.
For her other knee without cruciate ligaments, what risk does she run?
This is the most worrying thing. It all depends first of all on the level of damage of the rupture of its ligaments. With a total breakup as seems to be his case, it seems complicated to ski. But we’re talking about Lindsey Vonn and an extraordinary skier.
That’s to say ?
We have a skier who benefits from muscle strengthening and thighs which are far above the norm, even for very high level athletes like her. His muscular abilities are beyond belief. His muscles around the knee are terribly powerful. However, on a ski descent, you must take into account vibrations, shocks, speed and shifting support which will cause shearing stresses on your knee. Will it last until the end with such strong conditions? It’s hard to say.
Will she be in pain?
Even if her team does everything necessary to protect her knee with a brace, she will most likely feel pain. With the speed, she will have to play between her two knees to find a balance between the pain and all the forces that will constrain her. There is also a parameter that must be considered with its descent.
Which ?
The fear of getting hurt even more. Even when an injury is completely healed, which is not the case here, you have to retrain your brain to keep it away. In great shape and well trained, tackling an Olympic downhill is already mentally extremely difficult. Doing it with all the constraints that Lindsey Vonn faces shows the extraordinary mentality that is hers. This is his last Olympics, perhaps his last race. I can imagine she wouldn’t have taken the start or risked so much if that hadn’t been the case.
“Generally, top athletes with such a degree of commitment rarely make beautiful old men”
What’s the worst that could happen to him on this descent?
A fall that could aggravate the injury. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that there won’t be any accidents.
Is there a risk of breakage to your prosthesis?
It is made of titanium and the risk is minimal. I don’t see how it could break. Everything will depend on the duration of her descent, the speed, the quality of the snow but in any case with all the forces that this exercise requires, she will put her joint and everything around her prosthesis to a very severe test. That said, this isn’t her first race with this prosthesis and I think she knows how to handle it.
Does it endanger his future health?
Generally, top athletes with such a level of commitment rarely make handsome old men. We have examples in other sports like with Rafael Nadal who almost ended up on crutches without knowing what state he will be in 10 years. All these champions are not made like us. They have a self-confidence that is extraordinary and this confidence comes from their body. But every champion must also be careful of one thing: not to do the match, the fight or the descent too much.
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