Lindsey Vonn Will Not Compete In The Sochi Olympics Due To Knee Injury

Lindsey Vonn will not compete in the Sochi Olympics due to a right knee injury. The 29-year-old announced her decision through her Facebook account on Tuesday, Jan. 7, one month before the opening ceremony in Russia.

Lewis Kay, her publicist, said in a statement that the Colorado native "will have surgery shortly."

In her Facebook post, Vonn said that she is "devastated" that she will not compete in the Olympics but the reality is that her knee is "too unstable to compete at this level."

Here is a copy of the complete Facebook post.

"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. I'm having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February. On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. 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! 
XO Lindsey"

Vonn took home two medals from the 2010 Vancouver Games. She was actually the fist American woman to win an Olympic gold in the downhill event. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion. As USA Today reported, the Sochi Olympics has lost one of its biggest stars.