Lindsey Vonn Withdraws From Sochi Olympics

Gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has withdrawn from the Sochi Olympics, saying that the knee she re-injured in November will require surgery.

"I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi," the alpine skier wrote in a post on her Facebook page. "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."

She added that she hopes to be able to compete at the World Championships in Vail in February 2015.

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Vonn initially injured her right knee during the World Championships in Austria last February, and then crashed during a training session last November. She then aggravated the original knee injury during a training run in December, and subsequently pulled out of all World Cup races leading up to the Sochi Olympics.

Throughout her struggles, Vonn insisted that she planned to participate in the Winter Games. But she seems to be finding a silver lining now that she's officially withdrawn. "On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold," Vonn wrote on Facebook. "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!"

Are you disappointed Vonn won't be participating in the Olympics?