Alpine skiing-Vonn flown to hospital after horror downhill crash

U.S. ski great Lindsey Vonn was flown to the hospital after her audacious bid to win Olympic downhill gold with a ruptured ACL ended in a horrific crash after 13 seconds on Sunday.

An informed source told Reuters a helicopter was taking the 41-year-old to a hospital in Treviso after she was strapped into a medical stretcher and winched off the sunlit Olimpia delle Tofane piste.

Vonn, whose battle to reach the start line despite her knee injury dominated the opening days of the Milano Cortina Olympics, saw her unlikely quest halted in screaming agony on the snow.

Wearing bib number 13 and with a brace on the left knee she injured in a crash at Crans Montana on January 30, Vonn looked pumped up at the start gate.

She tapped her ski poles before setting off in typically aggressive fashion down one of her favourite pistes on a mountain that has rewarded her in the past.

The 2010 gold medallist, the second most successful female World Cup skier of all time with 84 wins, appeared to clip the fourth gate with her shoulder, losing control and being launched into the air.

She then barrelled off the course at high speed before coming to rest in a crumpled heap.

Vonn could be heard screaming on television coverage as fans and teammates gasped in horror before a shocked hush fell on the packed finish area.

She was quickly surrounded by several medics and officials before a yellow 'Falco 2' Alpine rescue helicopter arrived and winched her away on an orange stretcher.

The helicopter took Vonn initially to Cortina's Codivilla Putti Hospital for a medical assessment. As it flew overhead towards the town, spectators applauded.

"The medical team responded immediately, and the intervention time was excellent," the International Olympic Committee said.

There was no immediate word on her condition.

SKIERS LEFT SHOCKED

Fellow American Breezy Johnson, the world champion who had set the fastest time, covered her eyes and looked away as the helicopter was called.

Johnson was later crowned champion on a bittersweet day of pride and pain for the team.

"My heart goes out to her," said Johnson, the first American medallist of the Games, who added that Vonn's coach had told her she was cheering her from the helicopter.

"When you love the course so much, and it hurts you like that, it hurts even more."

Vonn had been hoping to become the oldest Alpine skiing Olympic medallist after winning two World Cup downhills this year and finishing on the podium in the other three.

Arguably the highest-profile athlete at the Games, the crash sent shockwaves across day two.

Her teammate, downhill skier Bryce Bennett, watching in the town square on a big screen in Bormio, where the men's races are staged, was left stunned by what he had seen.

"It's obviously a bummer. It's just like the risk of downhill is high and ... Like, everyone makes it look so easy when it's going smooth, and then you see how quickly it can go in the other direction," he told Reuters.

"Her right leg didn't look so good, but we'll see."

VONN RISKED TOO MUCH

Even TV commentators were visibly shaken by Vonn's crash.