Story byLindsey Vonn; Breezy Johnson Mike Coppola/Getty (2)Natasha DyeThu, February 5, 2026 at 11:42 AM UTC·3 min readNEED TO KNOWLindsey Vonn's teammate Breezy Johnson spoke out in defense of the 41-year-old, who will compete in the 2026 Winter Games with a ruptured ACLJohnson said "more athletes have competed without an ACL than you think," when one fan asked why there was "no backup athlete" for VonnVonn ruptured her ACL on Jan. 30 at a World Cup race in Switzerland, but announced days later she will still compete and believes "she's still able to fight"Lindsey Vonn's teammate Breezy Johnson is defending the 41-year-old's decision to compete in the Olympics on a ruptured ACL. After Vonn announced Tuesday that she'll race in the downhill event at the 2026 Winter Game despite "completely" rupturing her ACL one week prior at a World Cup race, some fans questioned whether or not she should have pulled out. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen one person asked why there was "no backup athlete" for Vonn, saying "seems she can't possibly be elite with those compromises," fellow alpine skier Johnson, 30, responded on social media in defense of her teammate. Lindsey Vonn on Feb. 3, 2026 in Cortina, Italy Ezra Shaw/Getty"There will be 6 Americans running the Downhill training runs and if Lindsey cannot compete...