Skier Lindsey Vonn, the highest profile American winter athlete, has announced that she will not compete during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Vonn announced the news herself on her Facebook page, explaining that she had hoped to overcome injuries to compete, but has decided that her knee has not gotten better enough to compete against the top talent in the world.
“I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi. I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level,” Vonn said.
She added that she hopes to be able to compete at the World Championships in Vail, Colorado in 2015.
“On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold,” she continued. “Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!”
ESPN notes that Vonn had knee surgery last February to repair two ligaments, but she re-tore one in November. She competed for the World Cup in December in Lake Louise, Alberta, but she had another injury on Dec. 21 in Val d'Isere, France.
Vonn is easily the most recognizable name in Alpine skiing and has won four World Cups. She also won two medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The Sochi Olympics run from Feb. 7-23.
image: NBC