Cortina d'Ampezzo ¨C The helicopter crew tasked with evacuating U.S. Alpine skiing great Lindsey Vonn from the Olimpia delle Tofane piste described a technically demanding but smoothly executed rescue operation carried out under bright skies during Sunday¡¯s Olympic downhill.

Vonn, 41, had surgery on a broken leg in an Italian hospital after her audacious bid to win Olympic downhill gold with a ruptured knee ?ligament ended in a horrific crash after 13 seconds.

Annalisa Raffin, a winch technician from Pordenone, said the team was following the race when the emergency call arrived.

¡°As soon as we were activated, we left immediately ¡ª the pilot, myself, the technician and the doctor on board ¡ª ?and headed to the target area,¡± she said.

The recovery required the helicopter to remain at significant height while a prolonged winching maneuver was performed, making coordination between crew members critical.

¡°It¡¯s all ?about coordinating movements, and the helicopter¡¯s positioning to reach the target in the most accurate way possible,¡± Raffin said.

¡°Once we reached the athlete, ?she was secured ?to the winch, recovered and transported back to the medical base.¡±

She ?added that the crew receives only coded information on severity during activation and ?is not ?informed of the patient¡¯s medical condition.

Vonn was fully covered on a winch stretcher during the extraction to protect her against wind and cold air generated by the helicopter¡¯s rotors.

Pilot Roberto Cit of Belluno described the day as ¡°truly special,¡± noting that clear, sunny conditions contrasted with the disrupted training sessions on Saturday caused by difficult weather.

¡°Today¡¯s conditions were optimal, and we worked very well together as a team,¡± he said, praising coordination with mountain rescue personnel, the onboard nurse and doctor and the winch technician during maneuver on the slope.

After Vonn spent a ?few ?hours at the Codivilla Putti Hospital in Cortina, the helicopter transported her directly to the Ca¡¯ Foncello Hospital in Treviso.

¡°It¡¯s about a 30-minute flight from the Cortina helipad ?to Treviso Hospital,¡± Cit said. ¡°The flight went perfectly, without any issues.¡±

Despite the pressure of operating during a major Olympic event, the crew said training and teamwork ensured the mission proceeded calmly and efficiently.

¡°We stayed composed and carried out the operation as well as ?possible,¡± Cit said. ¡°I believe the result was good.¡±

After racing got back under way, Andorra¡¯s last starter Cande Moreno, 25, also crashed and was put on a stretcher as an air ambulance was called into action a second time.

Avincis, Europe¡¯s largest provider of emergency air services, are handling rescue operations at the Winter Olympics.