Tiger Woods’ rumored girlfriend Lindsey Vonn was seriously injured in a skiing accident during the super-G race in Schladming, Austria on Tuesday.

Due to the foggy weather conditions, the race was initially postponed 3 ½ hours but officials continued after a 15 minute delay. 

Vonn crashed when she lost balance on her right leg and tumbled several feet down the slope. Her skis came off completely and she slid into a gate coming to a screeching halt. The 28-year-old professional ski racer was airlifted to a nearby hospital after receiving treatment for her right knee on the slopes for 12 minutes.  

The U.S. Ski Team said Vonn had the fastest first interval speed and appeared to be having a strong run when she went down the second time. Tina Maze of Slovenia ultimately won the super-G championship. Maze came in first place with a 1 minute, 35.39 seconds time, topping Lara Gut of Switzerland by 38 seconds and Julia Mancuso of the United States, who followed 52 seconds later in third place.

Because of the scrutiny of Vonn’s personal life and possible budding relationship with Woods, the Olympic skier hired extra security for the world championship race that was expected to attract roughly 30,000 fans. Given the limited space in the venue, Vonn said her sponsor Red Bull hired the bodyguards, “to make sure I can get in and out and not have any difficultly, but I don’t expect there to be any problems. But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Without completely denying the rumored romance when asked by a TV reporter if Woods would be attending the race, Vonn answered, “Oh, my god! I don’t know. You should ask him.” 

Knowing his track record, Vonn was initially very hesitant to get involved with Woods, according to reports, but decided to give the golf player a chance. Vonn finalized her divorce with Thomas Vonn this month after they split in November 2011.

Woods split from Elin Nordegren, his wife of six years, in 2010 after he was exposed for cheating with multiple women including New York socialite Rachel Uchitel. Elin walked away from the marriage with a $110 million divorce settlement - one of the biggest payouts in celebrity divorces ever. Nordegren has custody of their two children Sam and Charlie.

Tags: lindsey vonn tiger woods