Lindsey Vonn crashes out in women’s downhill at Winter Olympics as compatriot Breezy Johnson wins gold

Vonn knew the dangers of competing but showed defiance in a media conference earlier this week, and had even hit back at a doctor on social media who claimed the injury was “not a fresh tear”.

She responded by saying her ACL is “100% torn” and had hoped to defy the odds by replicating the Olympic downhill gold medal she won in Vancouver in 2010.

Videos on social media had shown her training in the gym after she said she had no pain or swelling of the knee, while two smooth runs in the build-up to the race had given her, and her team and fans, confidence.

Four-time British Olympian Chemmy Alcott was emotional on BBC coverage and said she “never believed” it would end in this way.

“What we saw [is] that the top of the piste is really hard for a fit athlete. It is brutal, think about her family, her team and herself,” she said.

“We have to be realistic – the risk was really high, the risk she takes when she falls will double that. Her body will not be able to take that.”

Alcott added that the long delay would also mean the snow on the piste would begin to melt in the midday sun, meaning any racer who followed Vonn would struggle to match Johnson’s time.

The crash surely unsettled the rest of the field, too, and Andorra’s Cande Moreno was also airlifted off the piste after crashing into a gate.