2026年2月18日 / 美国东部时间上午5:51 / 美联社
意大利科尔蒂纳丹佩佐 — 林赛·沃恩在奥运会下坡赛中摔倒在雪地上，痛苦尖叫，随后被直升机空运离场的画面，残酷地提醒着人们高山速降运动的危险性。
同样令人警醒的是：她的滑雪板并未脱落。
在米兰-科尔蒂纳奥运会上，尽管沃恩摔倒时身体呈风车状旋转，她的靴子仍牢牢锁在滑雪板上，滑行至停止时双脚以怪异角度扭曲，显然痛苦不堪。
目前尚无法确定，如果她的滑雪板能够自动脱落，伤势是否会较轻——她复杂的胫骨骨折已经接受了多次手术。但这次毁灭性的伤病，让固定器（将靴子固定在滑雪板上的装置，也是这项运动中最古老的技术之一）的重要性备受关注。
美国选手林赛·沃恩在2026年米兰-科尔蒂纳冬奥会女子速降比赛中摔倒（2026年2月8日，次日）。国际奥委会提供 / 盖蒂图片社
沃恩在一次手术后的社交媒体帖子中坚定表示：“这段旅程值得这次跌倒。当我夜晚闭眼时，我没有遗憾，对滑雪的热爱依然存在。我仍期待着再次站在山顶的那一刻，我会做到的。”
官员们告诉美联社，一种旨在当像沃恩这样的选手失控时自动释放滑雪板的固定器系统，在多年讨论停滞后仍处于设计阶段。
“不幸的是，有时确实需要可怕的事故才能更清楚地看到我们能做些什么，”美国滑雪协会（USSA）主席兼首席执行官索菲·戈德施密特表示，“这是一个我们无法独自竞争的领域；我们必须与不同国家的同行以及国际滑雪联合会（FIS）共同努力。”
半个世纪以来，固定器的基本设计几乎没有重大改变：一旦滑雪者脚尖先踏入，然后脚跟下压锁定，只有施加压力才能使系统释放靴子。技术水平较低的滑雪者使用的固定器更容易释放，以避免腿部受伤；而水平越高、滑雪越激烈，固定器就会被调得越紧，以确保精英选手不会轻易脱落。
沃恩的滑雪板未脱落并未让多少人感到意外，问题在于：它们是否本应脱落？
寻求更安全的系统，类似滑雪者的安全气囊
国际滑雪联合会（FIS）女子速降赛事总监彼得·格尔多（Peter Gerdol）在奥运会和世界杯巡回赛中表示，一种基于算法、旨在当滑雪者失控时自动释放的“智能固定器”系统“肯定能”帮助沃恩避免腿部骨折。
“这正是该系统的设计目标，”格尔多告诉美联社，“她的滑雪板肯定会弹出。……我们见过很多其他案例，固定器未打开导致膝盖问题，尤其是当仍附着的滑雪板像杠杆一样作用于网、雪地、门或其他障碍物时。腿部被卡住，膝盖会断裂。”
在她奥运会撞车事故发生前九天，沃恩在瑞士克兰斯-蒙塔纳的一次摔倒中左膝前交叉韧带撕裂。她最终落入安全网，但滑雪板仍牢牢固定。
智能固定器系统可以借鉴本季在速降项目中强制使用的滑雪者安全气囊系统的技术。
“开发仍需时间，但理念是固定器将由触发安全气囊充气的相同算法触发，”格尔多解释道，“脚跟部分会向后滑动，运动员的滑雪板就会弹出。”
丹纳森（Dainese）及其子公司D-Air Lab在为摩托车比赛开发类似系统后，花了数年时间研发了一个算法，用于在滑雪者比赛服下充气安全气囊。
与FIS合作后，丹纳森正与Look、Tyrolia、Salomon、Atomic和Marker等顶级固定器供应商分享安全气囊算法，以调整公式使其能释放滑雪板。
释放滑雪板可能比充气安全气囊更危险。精英滑雪者有时能在腾空后做出惊人的恢复动作，也能在撞击安全围栏前用滑雪板刹车。
“这是一个非常复杂的项目，”丹纳森在赛道上的代表马尔科·帕斯托雷（Marco Pastore）表示，“如果释放固定器，必须绝对确保在正确的时刻操作。安全气囊可以通过旋转和身体位置判断，但固定器需要分析脚部运动、滑雪板轨迹以及一系列其他变量。”
成本问题
尽管FIS希望协调该项目，但谁来承担费用仍是问题。
“这些项目成本很高，老实说，丹纳森从安全气囊中赚得不多，”帕斯托雷说，“目前这在消耗我们的资金。每个人都想要这些好东西，但最终总得有人买单。”
2008-2018年美国男子滑雪队主教练萨沙·雷里克（Sasha Rearick）回忆起近十年前他担任世界杯教练工作组组长时的固定器讨论。
“问题在于丹纳森在投入资金和所有投资，”雷里克说，“如果他们与固定器公司分享技术，这些公司现在需要大量投入，成本可能很高。”
男子世界杯和奥运会赛事总监马库斯·瓦尔德纳（Markus Waldner）本赛季早些时候表示，FIS正“与生物力学家和制造商合作，改进靴子和固定器标准，以降低高速时发生灾难性边缘卡住的可能性。”
然而，格尔多暗示该项目可能需要2至6年才能实施。
固定器的应用差异
为避免滑雪板弹出，滑雪技师会将选手的固定器调至几乎锁定状态。
美国速降选手布莱斯·贝内特（Bryce Bennett）和山姆·莫尔斯（Sam Morse）的滑雪技师利奥·穆西（Leo Mussi）表示，他将选手的固定器压力设置高达440磅——这甚至超过了市售固定器的最大承受能力。
奥地利选手马尔科·施瓦茨（Marco Schwarz）在2023年12月博尔米奥速降赛中严重膝盖受伤，滑雪板未脱落，他滑入安全网时受伤。
“很难说，如果滑雪板弹出是否能让他免于受伤，”他对是否改变现状表示不确定，“最好保持简单，我不想过多投入更多技术。”
美国选手妮娜·奥布莱恩（Nina O’Brien）在2022年北京奥运会遭遇可怕的开放性骨折后接受了四次手术，她表示不将事故归咎于设备问题，而是感谢她的技师。
“无论我当天是否穿了滑雪板、取下又去喝咖啡，当我再次穿上时，他都会检查确保完美无缺，”奥布莱恩说。
安全气囊系统早在2013年就开始在世界杯巡回赛中测试，直到本季才在速降和超级大回转项目中成为强制要求。在此期间，一些滑雪者称气囊阻碍空气动力学、穿着不适或可能造成伤害。
最近意大利选手马特奥·弗朗佐索（Matteo Franzoso）在智利季前训练中摔倒身亡后，安全问题变得更加紧迫。
“不幸的是，总是需要严重的事故发生，人们才会说‘不，现在我们需要做点什么’，”帕斯托雷说。
本季也是世界杯和奥运会所有项目中首次强制要求防割内层服装。
安全改进仍有很大空间。在智能固定器系统开发期间，雷里克（现为法国蒂涅国际滑雪学院Apex 2100的总监）建议从比赛服入手。
“为所有人制作一种更保暖、稍显减速但防割的材料服装，”雷里克说，“这将让这项运动对所有人都更安全。”
Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic crash puts concern over ski bindings’ design back in spotlight
February 18, 2026 / 5:51 AM EST / AP
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy — The images of Lindsey Vonn down on the snow, screaming in pain and then being airlifted off the course by helicopter after her crash at the Olympics were a stark reminder of the dangers of the downhill.
So is this: Her skis didn’t come off.
Vonn’s boots remained locked into her skis even after her pinwheeling fall at the Milan Cortina Games, pointing awkwardly in different directions as she slid to a stop in obvious agony.
It is impossible to know whether Vonn would have suffered a less serious injury – her complex tibia fracture has already required multiple surgeries – had her skis been released. But the devastating injury has put a spotlight on the importance of bindings, which hold boots to the skis and remain some of the oldest technology in the sport.
Lindsey Vonn of Team United States crashes during the Women’s Downhill on Feb. 8, 2026, day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. IOC Handout / Getty Images
For her part, Vonn was steadfast in a social media post after one of her operations, saying, “The ride was worth the fall. When I close my eyes at night I don’t have regrets and the love I have for skiing remains. I am still looking forward to the moment when I can stand on the top of the mountain once more. And I will.”
Officials told The Associated Press that a binding system designed to automatically release skis when a racer like Vonn loses control is still in the drawing-board phase after years of stalled discussions.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it does take horrific accidents to shine even more of a light on what can be done,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. “It’s an area we can’t be competitive in; we’ve all got to be in it together with our different country counterparts and FIS (the International Ski and Snowboard Federation).”
Bindings haven’t significantly changed in their basic design for half a century: Once a skier steps in toe-first and then locks in by stepping down with their heel, pressure needs to be applied for the system to release the boot. Less-skilled skiers have bindings that release more easily to avoid leg injuries; the higher the skill level and the more serious the skiing, the more the bindings are cranked down to keep elite racers on their skis.
Few were surprised that Vonn’s skis did not release. The question is whether they should have.
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn lies in a hospital bed in Italy after she crashed during the Women’s Downhill in the 2026 Winter Olympics in this picture obtained from social media on February 11, 2026. @lindseyvonn via Instagram via REUTERS
Safer system sought, similar to skiers’ air bags
A so-called “smart binding” system based on an algorithm and designed to automatically release when a skier loses control “would have surely” helped prevent Vonn from breaking her leg, said Peter Gerdol, the FIS women’s race director at the Olympics and on the World Cup circuit.
“That’s exactly what the system will be designed to do,” Gerdol told AP. “Her skis would have definitely popped off. … We’ve seen a lot of other cases in which the bindings don’t open and it results in knee issues, especially when the still-attached ski acts as a lever, either on the net or on the snow or on a gate or on any other obstacle. The leg becomes blocked and the knee gives out.”
Nine days before her Olympic crash, Vonn tore the ACL in her left knee in a crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. She ended up in the safety nets with her skis still attached.
A smart-binding system could borrow technology from the safety air bag system that became mandatory for skiers this season in the speed events.
“It’s still going to take time to develop but the idea is that the binding would be triggered by the same algorithm that prompts the air bag to inflate,” Gerdol said. “The heel piece would slide back and the athlete’s skis would pop off.”
Dainese and its sister company, D-Air Lab, spent years developing an algorithm for air bags to inflate under skiers’ racing suits after creating a similar system for motorcycle racing.
In coordination with the FIS, Dainese is sharing the air bag algorithm with top binding suppliers such as Look, Tyrolia, Salomon, Atomic and Marker in order to adapt the formula to release skis.
Releasing skis is potentially more dangerous than inflating an air bag. Elite skiers are sometimes capable of spectacular recoveries after flying into the air and they also can often use their skis to brake before slamming into safety fences.
“It’s a very complicated project,” said Marco Pastore, a Dainese representative on the circuit for the air bag system. “If you release a binding, you’ve got to be absolutely sure you do it at the right moment. For the air bag you can look at the rotations and the entire body position. But with the bindings you’ve got to examine how the feet move, what the trajectory of the skis is – plus a series of other variables.”
Cost is an issue
While the FIS wants to coordinate the project, issues remain over who will pay for it.
“These are very costly projects and to be honest Dainese has not made much” from the air bags, Pastore said. “Right now it’s costing us money. Everyone wants these great things but at the end of the day someone has to pay for it.”
Sasha Rearick, the head coach of the U.S. men’s ski team from 2008-18, recalls bindings discussions when he was in charge of the World Cup coaches’ work group nearly a decade ago.
“The problem is that Dainese is the one who’s putting the money and all the investments,” Rearick said. “So if they’re sharing it with the binding companies, the binding companies now need to invest heavy, and it probably costs (a lot).”
Markus Waldner, the men’s World Cup and Olympics race director, said earlier this season that FIS is “working with bio-mechanists and manufacturers to refine boot and binding standards to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic edge catches at high speed.”
Still, Gerdol suggested the project could be anywhere from two to six years away from being implemented.
Bindings’ applications differ
To avoid skis popping off, ski technicians crank up racers’ bindings so they are virtually locked in.
Leo Mussi, the ski technician for American downhillers Bryce Bennett and Sam Morse, said he sets his racers’ bindings at up 440 pounds of pressure – more than double what a store-bought binding is even capable of.
Austrian racer Marco Schwarz suffered a serious knee injury in a December 2023 crash during the Bormio downhill. His skis didn’t release as he slid into the safety netting.
“It’s tough to say,” he said of whether the skis popping off would’ve saved him from injury, and he isn’t sure about changing things.
“The best way is to keep it simple,” Schwarz said. “I don’t want to push too much into more technology.”
Nina O’Brien, an American who had to endure four surgeries after a gruesome compound fracture at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, said she didn’t fault any equipment issues for her crash and credited her technician.
“Regardless if I’ve worn the skis that morning, clicked out and gotten a coffee,” O’Brien said, “when I step back in, he checks them to make sure they’re perfect.”
The air bag system was first tested on the World Cup circuit back in 2013 and only this season became mandatory for the speed events of downhill and super-G. In between, some skiers said the bags hindered their aerodynamics, were uncomfortable to wear or could actually cause injuries.
Safety issues became more of a pressing issue recently when Italian skier Matteo Franzoso died following a crash in preseason training in Chile.
“Unfortunately, it always takes something serious to happen for people to say, ‘No. Now we need to do something,’” Pastore said.
This is also the first season in which a cut-resistant undergarment is required for all events on the World Cup and at the Olympics.
There is plenty of room for safety advancements. While the smart-bindings system is being developed, Rearick – now the director of Apex 2100, an international ski academy in Tignes, France – suggested addressing the racing suits.
“Make one suit of material for everybody that’s a little bit warmer, that’s a little bit slower, that’s cut-proof,” Rearick said. “That will make the sport a lot safer for everybody.”
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